Moved To Tears
There’s nothing quite like a good cry, so maybe these emotional pictures will offer you the catharsis you’re looking for. Just remember: For these films, tissues could be in even shorter supply than the popcorn!
After Yang (2021)
A family replays an android’s memory core after the human-looking robot becomes impossible to repair. Directed by South Korean director Kogonada and starring Colin Farrell, the film gets into issues of identity and loss, as an adopted daughter grieves the robot sibling brought in to support her Chinese heritage.
The Banshees Of Inisherin (2022)
It’s a sad thing when friends break up. Here again is Colin Farrell in fine form, this time reunited with In Bruges (2008) co-star Brendan Gleeson in this story of two drinking buddies for whom friendship ends and the vengeance begins.
Searchlight Pictures, The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
The love that dares not speak its name between two Wyoming sheepherders in 1963 was bound to not end well, but along the way, Ang Lee’s direction and brilliant performances by Heath Ledger and Jack Gyllenhaal brought tears to many an eye.
Brokeback Mountain (2005), Focus Features
Call Me By Your Name (2017)
The love that speaks the name of both protagonists, played by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer, is another doomed affair, but it’s 1983 in Italy, so wistful Elio and boisterous Oliver, a visitor from America, manage to explore their feelings in a more European fashion even as the moment of parting approaches.
Frenesy Film Company, Call Me by Your Name (2017)
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
Melissa McCarthy plays Lee Israel, a real-life writer who shifted to forgeries out of desperation when she couldn’t drum up enough interest in her biographies. Eventually, the feds catch up with her, but not before she loses her livelihood and her reputation. Critics thought the movie was pretty genuine, giving it almost universal praise.
Searchlight Pictures, Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
An Italian film director reflects upon a smalltown projectionist who played such a crucial role in his early life. Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, this heartwarming coming-of-age tale touched viewers around the world, and is said to have single-handedly revived Italy’s film industry.
Cristaldifilm, Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Matthew McConaughey puts in a bravura performance as an AIDS patient who’s fighting for his life in the America of 1985, when drug approvals seem to take inhumanly long. Eventually, he smuggles medication from Mexico, first for himself and then for others. This riveting tale received plenty of praise from critics.
Truth Entertainment (II), Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Robin Williams as an English teacher in 1959 uses unconventional techniques to inspire his students to think for themselves, naturally, with the help of some very departed poets. Unforeseen consequences ensue, and the students face some heart-wrenching decisions.
Touchstone, Dead Poets Society (1989)
The Farewell (2019)
A family decides to keep the matriarch in the dark about dire medical results, so a farewell in China is arranged under the pretext of a family wedding. Billi (Awkwafina) flies in from New York City, and struggles with keeping the prognosis a secret.
Big Beach, The Farewell (2019)
50/50 (2011)
Odds of survival for radio reporter Adam Lerner are 50/50 in this comedy-drama about cancer written by Will Reiser, who’d been diagnosed with the disease in real life. Critics particularly liked the acting from a great cast that included Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen.
Summit Entertainment, 50/50 (2011)
The Florida Project (2017)
Six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Kimberly Prince) lives in the shadow of Walt Disney World as her mother, Halley (Bria Vinaite), struggles to make ends meet. Critics praised this sad tale of a part of society rarely portrayed on the screen, and noted Willem Dafoe’s nuanced performance as a sympathetic motel manager.
Cre Film, The Florida Project (2017)
Fruitvale Station (2013)
Director Ryan Coogler’s first feature film is based on the real events leading to a Black man’s tragic end at a subway stop in Oakland. The film’s 85 minutes chronicle the events leading up to a transit officer shooting Oscar Grant III in the back.
Significant Productions, Fruitvale Station (2013)
Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)
This grim animation depicts the struggle of two Japanese orphans to survive after losing their mother. It was Studio Ghibli’s fourth feature film, and widely praised by critics around the world.
Ghibli, Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
The Green Mile (1999)
Tom Hanks plays a guard who’s puzzled at how a gentle inmate, played by Michael Clarke Duncan, could end up condemned. Based on a Stephen King novel, the movie takes a supernatural turn when the mysterious man turns out to have healing powers.
Castle Rock Entertainment, The Green Mile (1999)
In The Mood For Love (2000)
In 1962 Hong Kong,, a man and a woman realize their spouses are having an affair, and start to develop feelings of their own for each other.
Jet Tone Production, In The Mood For Love (2000)
Into The Wild (2007)
Based on a real-life story, Christopher McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch) grows disenchanted with modern society and eventually ends up in Alaska living in an abandoned bus. Things go from grim to grimmer in this well-received film directed by Sean Penn.
Paramount Vantage, Into the Wild (2007)
Lenny Cooke (2013)
An impressive high school basketball player fails to get drafted into the NBA, so tries his hand in the minor leagues—and this documentary covers the highs and lows of a bittersweet trajectory.
Red Bucket Films, Lenny Cooke (2013)
Life Is Beautiful (1997)
Roberto Benigni directed, co-wrote, and starred in this story of a father turning life in a concentration camp into a game to shield his son from danger and the awful truth.
Melampo Cinematografica, Life Is Beautiful (1997)
Lost In Translation (2003)
Sofia Coppola wrote and directed this tale of “romantic melancholy” starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. Murray’s performance as a once-glamorous film star having a midlife crisis received particular praise from critics.
Focus Features, Lost in Translation (2003)
Love Story (1970)
The title says it all, as Ali McGraw and Ryan O’Neal star in this quintessential tale of romance and tragedy that gave us the eternal line, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry”.
Loving Vincent (2017)
The sadness of a doomed artist is portrayed in this animation assembled from 65,000 oil paintings specially made for this film.
BreakThru Productions, Loving Vincent (2017)
Manchester By The Sea (2016)
Racked by guilt over the fate of his own children, Casey Affleck’s character struggles with the duty to take care of his orphaned nephew. This tale of depression and the challenges of grief was widely praised by critics.
Amazon Studios, Manchester By The Sea (2016)
Marley & Me (2008)
A young couple, played by Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, test their readiness for parenthood by getting themselves a Labrador retriever they name Marley, who turns out to be a very rambunctious test subject. Canine and non-canine challenges ensue, with more than a few tears shed.
Fox 2000 Pictures, Marley & Me (2008)
Moonlight (2016)
An all-Black cast tells the tale of a young gay man’s coming of age in Florida and his struggle to forge an authentic masculinity in an often-hostile environment. Critics praised the film, which won three Oscars, including Best Picture.
Past Lives (2023)
A boy and a girl go out on a date arranged by their parents in Seoul. The girl and her family then move to Toronto. The film picks up the story 12 years later (with her in New York City) and 24 years later (with her married to someone else), as the two ponder past and future lives, and what could’ve been.
The Pianist (2002)
Adrien Brody portrays a Jewish pianist in Warsaw, struggling to survive during WWII in a film based on the true story of Władysław Szpilman. Critics widely praised director Roman Polanski’s film, with one review saying the movie “gives us humanity, in all its complexity”.
Heritage Films, The Pianist (2002)
Precious (2009)
Critics were mesmerized by raw, harrowing performances in this tale of a 16-year-old named Precious who struggles to survive and improve her life in the Harlem of the 1980s.
Lee Daniels Entertainment, Precious (2009)
PS I Love You (2007)
Critics weren’t in love with this rom com, but moviegoers were enthralled. Gerald Butler plays Gerry, who sends messages from beyond the grave to his wife Holly, played by Hilary Swank. Ending with “PS I Love You,” these secretly relayed missives help fight Holly’s desire to lose herself in grief, as Gerry’s words encourage her not to give up on love.
Alcon Entertainment, P.S. I Love You (2007)
The Pursuit Of Happyness (2006)
Father and son Will and Jaden Smith star as a father and son facing hard times. Based on a true story about a homeless intern working at a stockbroker’s, Will Smith puts in a determined performance that wowed many critics.
Columbia, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Remember The Titans (2000)
Denzel Washington plays a coach trying to integrate a starkly divided football team in the Virginia of 1971. Its sport-themed message of tolerance in the face of numerous roadblocks resonated with audiences.
Walt Disney, Remember the Titans (2000)
Roma (2018)
Alfonso Cuarón’s gripping tale of politics, infidelity, and family in the Mexico City of the early 1970s won Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director, and Best Cinematography with its long black-and-white takes on life’s betrayals and disappointments.
Schindler’s List (1993)
Although director Steven Spielberg took some liberties (Oskar Schindler never wrote a list, for instance), this winner of seven Academy Awards movingly portrays German businessman Schindler’s attempts to save Jewish lives in WWII Poland.
Universal, Schindler's List (1993)
Sophie’s Choice (1982)
Also recalling WWII, this movie starring Meryl Streep entered popular consciousness with Sophie’s choice of which child to give up at a concentration camp. Polish immigrant Sophie Zawistowska slowly reveals her painful past to a budding novelist in Brooklyn, as the two develop feelings for each other.
Keith Barish Productions, Sophie’s Choice (1982)
Steel Magnolias (1989)
A star-studded cast portrayed small-town Southern women who bond through good times and bad, including the tearful fate of one of their own from diabetes. Critics praised Julia Roberts’ performance, but felt ambivalent about the melodrama towards the end. On the other hand, you might find the emotional intensity just what you need.
TriStar, Steel Magnolias (1989)
Still Alice (2014)
Julianne Moore stars as a professor diagnosed with Alzheimer’s right as she enters her 50s. Critics were particularly struck by Moore’s “piercing” performance.
Lutzus-Brown, Still Alice (2014)
Titanic (1997)
Winner of a massive 14 Academy Awards, James Cameron’s epic tale of love and tragedy led to endless debates about whether Jack (played by Leonard DiCaprio) really could’ve shared a floating plank with Rose (played by Kate Winslet).
Umberto D (1952)
An elderly man faces homelessness in this sad tale from the 1950s, with a dog ending up as Umberto’s only true friend. Famed around the world, Vittorio De Sica’s neorealist drama was unpopular in his own country for its devastating portrayal of a desperate man in desperate times.
Up (2009)
And to finish on an “up” note, a grouchy old man fulfills a promise to his late wife to move their house—with the help of an alarming number of balloons—to South America, but a peppy accidental stowaway joins the recluse in various life-affirming adventures. According to director and co-writer Pete Docter, the film tells us “the real adventure of life is the relationship we have with other people,” and we should appreciate them while they’re still with us.
Pass The Hankie
Without valleys, where are the mountain peaks? Feel free to check out these films to help you experience life’s sadness and joy—whether or not the characters themselves live happily ever after!
