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Movies are made to tell stories, whether fiction or non-fiction and evoke emotions from the audience. Some will scare you, some will excite you, but some, in this case, are real tearjerkers that will make you cry a river (or silently sob if you’re watching it in the cinema).
Thousands of touching and heartbreaking movies have been made, but we’ve picked a handful of masterpieces that will make be sure to make you cry (but are worthy of your tears!)
Up
Up will stand as one of the best and saddest animated films of all time. This heartbreaking 2009 animated film follows the story of an elderly man Carl Fredericksen (Edward Asner) and a nine-year-old boy, Russell (Jordan Nagai). Their wonderful but unlikely relationship started from a simple door knock. Russell, a hyperactive and cheerful Junior Wilderness Explorer, knocks on Carl’s door in the hopes of earning his last badge before becoming a Senior Wilderness Explorer - the “Assisting the Elderly” badge.
Though Carl seemed like a grumpy old man who is mostly angry, Russell’s personality offset his and his cheerfulness is hard to resist - even for Carl. His undying love for his deceased wife and the house they once shared shows true loyalty but his inability to let go. Despite Carl losing his floating house, he found and earned something far better than keeping his house - a loving relationship (with Russell). Watch Up on Disney+.
Milk
Harvey Milk, played by Sean Penn was the first openly gay politician to be elected to a major Californian public office, and the third openly gay politician in US history. Milk follows his revolutionary but tragic journey from being a New Yorker who struggled with his sexuality to being a true American hero who inspired many closeted people to come out and accepting who they are.
Dan White, who was the supervisor for the neighborhoods in District 8, grew resentment and felt threatened by Harvey Milk’s influence on the growing homosexual community in San Francisco in the 70s. He demanded a pay raise from his supervisor, but his request was denied, and so handed in his resignation. However, he later changed his mind, but it was too late - Mayor Moscone had been lobbied by Milk. In an enraged moment, White enters City Hall through the basement in an effort to conceal his gun, and shoots Mayor Moscone and later, Milk. It was one of the saddest moments in the film and US history. Watch Milk on Prime Video and Peacock.
Room
It’s no wonder Room was nominated for Best Picture at the 88th Academy Awards, and Brie Larson won the award for Best Actress. The film is mostly set in a small enclosed shed where Joy Newsome (Brie Larson) and her 5-year-old son Jack (Jacob Tremblay) lived. They are held captive by “Old Nick” (Sean Bridgers), who is Jack’s biological father and the man who kidnapped Joy before Jacob was born. He abuses her for years and continues to do it when Jacob sleeps in the closet.
The only glimpse of the outside world they have is a small skylight above the bed. Jack’s only perception of reality is the room and everything in it - to him, the outside world only exists on television. One day, Joy asks Jack to fake being sick to attempt an escape, wrapping his “dead body” in a carpet in the hopes that “Old Nick” would take him out of the room, which he did. As he drove through the roads, Jack, for the first time in his life, experiences the outside world. Jack’s reaction to the outside world is perhaps the most heartbreaking scene in the entire film; he couldn't believe his eyes. Watch Room on Hulu and Prime Video.
Precious
Precious follows the journey of an African-American woman, Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) who struggles with obesity and illiteracy, and suffered from being raped by her biological father, which resulted in two pregnancies. Her firstborn child, Mongo, has Down syndrome and has to be cared for by Precious’ grandmother. After finding out about her second pregnancy, Ms. Weiss (Mariah Carey) advises her to attend a different school where she hopes Precious could change her life for the better. There, she feels loved and supported.
Near the end of the film, Ms. Weiss tells her that her father had died from AIDS, and she later finds out that she is HIV positive. Despite the severity of her traumas, the film ends with Precious completing a high school diploma-equivalent test proving that she is trying to change her life by learning how to read and write properly. Watch Precious on Hulu and Prime Video.
Her
The 2013 science-fiction romantic film follows Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a lonely and depressed man who longs for nothing but companionship. He starts to develop a romantic relationship with an artificial intelligence assistant, Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), personified by a female voice. He realizes the strangeness of the situation but continues to fall in love deeper and even has a verbal sexual encounter with her.
Theodore asks if Samantha is talking to other people besides him and is disappointed when she says that she is talking to many people and have fallen in love with hundreds of them. Samantha tells him that she and the other AIs are going to a place that is hard for her to explain; they say their goodbyes. Her shows the lengths humans will go to feel loved and wanted, even if that companion isn’t human. Watch Her on Netflix (depending on your region).
Brokeback Mountain
Ang Lee’s 2005 western romance film Brokeback Mountain is considered one of the first films that became the pinnacle turning point of queer representation in cinema. It tells the heartbreaking romance between two cowboys, Ennis Del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal), and their struggles in accepting their sexuality due to cultural notions and rejections.
Ennis and Jack both married women and even had children of their own. However, time has proven that despite being married to the opposite sex, the connection they have is inevitable. They decide to go their separate ways but heartbreakingly, Ennis later finds out that Jack had died in a car accident. The groundbreaking film shows the oppression faced by queer communities and how they deal with it. Watch Brokeback Mountain on Netflix (depending on your region).
Dallas Buyers Club
Dallas Buyers Club is a 2013 biographical drama film based on the life of Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) and his battle after being diagnosed with AIDS in the 1980s when AIDS. He had sexual intercourse with a prostitute who was an intravenous drug user and transmitted the disease to him. Woodroof smuggled many unapproved drugs in an attempt to treat himself and others diagnosed with AIDS through the members-only “Dallas Buyers Club” which he formed, while simultaneously fighting against the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).
The film highlights the struggles AIDS diagnosed patients had to face and how they were perceived by society in the 80s. After a difficult battle against the FDA, Woodroof showed a deeper understanding of the LGBTQ community. Matthew McConaughey had to lose 50 pounds for the role, but it was ultimately the story and Jared Leto’s performances, that made the film so heartbreaking to watch. Watch Dallas Buyers Club on Netflix (depending on your region).
Schindler’s List
The Steven Spielberg 1993 historical drama film is based on the novel Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally. It is based on the true story of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a German industrialist who saved the lives of approximately 1,200 Polish-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them to work for him in his factories.
The film showed the horrifying conditions and treatments that Jewish people faced during that period. The commandant of the Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp, Amon Göth (Ralph Fiennes), would randomly shoot the prisoners from the balcony of his property, making people live in constant fear. The film is entirely shot in black and white except for the red coat of a little girl, signifying innocence and the deaths of many innocent people during that era. Watch Schindler’s List on Netflix (depending on your region).
Requiem for a Dream
Requiem for a Dream follows the story of four characters affected by drug addiction; Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, and Marlon Wayans respectively. Their addiction depicts their distorted perception of the world and of themselves. Each character gets worse and more delusional as the story progresses; resulting in tragedies.
Despite the heavy focus on drug addictions, the film informs that over-indulgence in any shape or form can cause catastrophes in human lives. It is undoubtedly one of the most tragic films ever made; all components of the story, including the cinematography, and actors’ performances enhance the darkness and sad realities of those who struggle with drug addiction. Watch Requiem for a Dream on Prime Video and Netflix (depending on your region).
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Adapted from the 2006 John Boyne book of the same name, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is a tragic story about the horrors of the Holocaust and the forbidden friendship between two eight-year-old boys in Nazi Germany in World War II. Bruno (Asa Butterfield), the son of an SS officer, relocated to a more rural part of Poland where his house is located next to a “back garden” which is in fact, a concentration camp.
His loneliness and boredom, however, led him to explore the "back garden" where he meets Shmuel (Jack Scanlon). The barbed wire fence surrounding the concentration camp that divides Bruno’s house and the camp doesn’t stop them from developing a friendship so pure that it knew no boundaries. And as the title suggests, Bruno thinks that Shmuel is simply a boy wearing pajamas and not, in fact, a prisoner. The film ends tragically when Bruno notices that Shmuel is missing and follows his trail to a gas chamber where he eventually finds Shmuel. Little did he know it would end in both of their demises. Watch The Boy in the Striped Pajamas on Netflix (depending on your region).