What makes girls (and guys) want to watch sad movies? When there is boredom in the soul, autumn depression has muffled up the city with an uncomfortable blanket, it is difficult to resist the temptation to cry: to be close to those who are just as sad, or (in special cases) to calm down someone, even in a dream world, who is sadder than you. Tears are known since ancient times as a good psychological discharge,. And today, it is still difficult to deny yourself the pleasure of a cry on dreary days.
As already clarified, it is not purely women’s movies, although almost the main promise of streams from the eyes is just a mean or not, a tear on a man’s face.
Movies may contain a tearful scene, or to be generally sad. Creators of the film could include viewer in the action with a psychologically cleverly constructed story or plot, which always works well, such as, catching animals, or an unconscious instinct of man, for example abandoned child, an unhappy love affair, death of a loved one. Second, according to the opinions of some remarkable and well-known filmmakers, we will not mention names; it is not quite an honest move from the director’s side.
Dozens of movies lists, which promise not to leave your cheeks dry, include hundreds of stories with reasons to cry which are quite varied. Tears are caused by both a sad, scary, touching stories and hilarious comedies (what is called laughing to tears). Some man does claim that he cries when he watches any movie, and when he watches every news release.
We can try to unite, absolutely conditionally, all plot touching films into a few large blocks, but in general, all the pictures will concern the theme of loss in the broadest sense – happiness, life, love.
Death as the Plot and the Culmination
This timeless and extremely broad topic somehow relates to all works of art. Death has many guises: random, old age, a violent act and cruel death as a manifestation of heroism or the result of the loss of meaning in life.
The loss of a loved one is one of the most serious experiences, it’s almost a sure fire option for filmmakers to cause tears in the eyes of the audience. Moreover the death itself can be the protagonist, for example, in the film Meet Joe Black. Or it appears as a fatality and becomes the impetus for the development of the plot, in which the character will have to adequately overcome the tragedy – for example, in the film Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. There are popular participants of tops of sad films in which death creates a culminating moment, – Gladiator, The Lion King, King Kong, Armageddon.
Animals, Like People
If you do not take into account films about the disappearance of animals and human’s cruel treatment of wildlife, it is usually the story of a faithful friend. The story is about a close creature, which the character grows with, matures, and one way or another parts ways with. It is interesting that the central characters of the most touching scenes of this topic are dogs. For example, Marley and Me, My Dog Skip, Old Yeller, Hachi: A Dog’s Tale. Whales hardly concede on the popularity of dogs – Free Willy, Everybody Loves Whales. It is appropriate to recall the War Horse and E.T. from Steven Spielberg – it is not quite an animal, but any way.
Irresistible: Incurable disease, Injuries
As a rule, in these pictures the character lives the last days, or learns to live after a terrible crash. The audience cries sympathizing and admiring the courage of heroes, or watching their confusion and fear. The lists of the most touching stories are often found following movies The Fountain, Million Dollar Baby, Simon, Knockin ‘on Heaven, Sweet November, Dancing in the Dark, Requiem for a Dream, I am Sam.
For Better and For Worse
In this block, there are a huge number of melodramas, among which, of course, unsinkable popular Titanic. Other frequent visitors lists are – The English Patient, Cruel Intentions, What Dreams May Come, Brokeback Mountain, A Walk to Remember, The Notebook, The Butterfly Effect, Ghost, Sleepless in Seattle, Kramer vs. Kramer, Casablanca, Midnight Kiss.
War, Injustice, Cruelty
Collisions of society and man, the polar points of view of good and evil form one of the most striking conflicts. The furious crowd is able to absorb and not the smallest man. State system and personality, social stereotypes and individuality, all the manifestations of war – these are stories, smashing to pieces the hearts of audiences. Among these lists we can often find movies such as Bicycle Thieves, The Pursuit of Happiness, Joan of Arc, The Green Mile, Brian’s Song, Boys Do not Cry, Artificial Intelligence, American History X, Shawshank Redemption, Magnolia, The Pianist, Life is Beautiful, Passion of the Christ and so on.
It is possible to separately select biographical films. Stories of famous people, as well as movies based on real events given a high degree of approximation to the hero forcing a good cry.
Three Interesting Lists of Sad Movies
(Note: it is not recommended to watch several movies in a row – there is a risk to exhaust the entire stock of tears).
The most touching movies (according to IMDB):
- Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, 1988
- P.S. I Love You, 2007
- An Affair to Remember, 1957
- Jane Eyre, 2011
- Les Choristes, 2004
- Olga, 2004
- The Notebook, 2004
- Away from Her, 2006
- El hijo de la novia, 2001
- Patch Adams, 1998
- Pay It Forward, 2000
- Doctor Zhivago, 1965
- When a Man Loves a Woman, 1994
- Lean on Me, 1989
- Mr. Holland’s Opus, 1995
- Marley & Me, 2008
- If Only, 2004
- Radio, 2003
- I Am Sam, 2001
There are movies that even make boys cry when they watch them (according to ScreenJunkies):
- One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, 1975
- The Iron Giant, 1999
- Up, 2009
- Midnight Cowboy, 1969
- Marley & Me, 2008
- Old Yeller, 1957
- Life is Beautiful, 1997
- A River Runs Through It, 1992
- Shane, 1953
- House of Flying Daggers, 2004
The most sad movies since the beginning of cinema (according to MamaPop):
- Broken Blossoms, 1936
- The Passion of Joan of Arc, 1928
- Gone With the Wind, 1939
- Casablanca, 1942
- The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946
- Chinatown, 1974
- Requiem for a Dream, 2000
Sad movies can be found among the films of any genre, era’s format, in amateur cinema and mainstream. Weather told by the authors of the film the story response by the viewer’s tears, will depend on the viewer’s life experiences, situations, and mood. But, of course, better to look for reasons to cry in movies than to draw them out of reality.
Enjoy all the autumn depression!
