Are you a massive fan of severely depressing films that rip your heart right out of your chest? Then, look no further. A Redditor recently confessed, “The anime Grave of the Fireflies is so incredibly devastating.
The brother trying to take care of his baby sister after the WW2 bombings in Japan was the saddest story I’ve ever seen on film.” After asking for other examples of movies with this emotion, these are the top-voted films.
1. Awakenings (1990)
In the 60s, Parkinson’s Disease was treated with a drug called L-dopa. When Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) visits the Bronx hospital and sees a group of catatonic patients, he seeks permission from his skeptical superiors to treat them with L-dopa. They seem to react well initially, but the “cure” leads to many complications.
2. Dead Poets Society (1989)
Another Robin Williams classic, Dead Poets Society, follows an English teacher, John Keating, trying to teach his students to go against the status quo.
These students study in an all-boys preparatory school known for its high standards and ancient traditions. Keating is a progressive teacher and uses unorthodox methods to teach his students to pursue their dreams. Many Redditors shared, “Some scenes will make you cry like a baby.”
3. Room (2015)
A woman named Joy (Brie Larson), and her five-year-old son, Jack, are captives of a man who keeps them in a room. He routinely abuses Joy.
As a result, he is the biological father of Jack. Jack believes that the contents of the room are what exists in the world. When they gain freedom, he can finally discover the real world.
4. Mystic River (2003)
The daughter of an ex-con, Jimmy, is murdered, and two of his childhood friends from the neighborhood are involved. Detective Sean takes up the homicide. While he does his official investigation, Jimmy does some of his own.
He suspects that Dave, a blue-collar worker who was the last person to see his daughter alive, is the culprit. Mystic River stars an ensemble of Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Bacon, Laura Linney, and Marcia Gay Harden.
5. The Fountain (2006)
This epic romantic drama shows three people living in different centuries searching for the tree of life to gain immortality. A man travels through time to save the woman he loves.
A present-day scientist is struggling to find a cure for cancer that is killing his wife. And an astronaut in the 26th century begins unraveling life and death mysteries. It stars Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz.
6. The Pianist (2002)
This movie is an adaptation of the autobiography The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man’s Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945, by Wladyslaw Szpilman.
It follows a Polish musician (Adrien Brody) hiding in Warsaw ruins during World War II to survive. He faces various struggles and loses contact with his family.
7. Atonement (2007)
This English drama is based on a novel by Ian McEwan of the same name. An emerging novelist, Briony Tallis is jealous of her sister Cecilia’s relationship with Robbie, her lover. So Briony concocts a lie that results in Robbie’s imprisonment. Still, hope for the lovers increases when they meet during World War II.
8. Still Alice (2014)
Dr. Alice Howland, a linguistics professor, is shocked when she tests positive for an early onset of familial Alzheimer’s at age 50. This gripping and heartfelt drama show Dr. Howland’s three children watching her helplessly as their mother disappears a little each passing day.
9. What Dreams May Come (1998)
Chris Neilsen (Robin Williams) dies in a car accident and goes to heaven. He is guided in his afterlife by his spirit guide, Albert.
It’s a beautiful world, and even his children (who died in an accident) are there. But things change when his wife takes her own life and is stuck in hell—ignoring Albert’s warnings, Chris journeys to hell to save her.
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10. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
This drama-documentary mixes movie scenes with home movies and interviews. It is based on the murder of 28-year-old Dr. Andrew Bagby by his ex-girlfriend. She shot him and fled to Canada, pregnant with his child.
The director, Kurt Kuenne, was Andrew’s best friend, and the film attempts to allow Andrew’s son to learn the truth about his father. Many Redditors in the thread stated this was the saddest film they’d ever seen.
We hope you enjoyed these Reddit recommendations for films that will have you collapse into a puddle of your own tears. This article is inspired by the internet and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Boss Level Gamer.
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