I am not a big crier in everyday life, and even less so when it comes to films. When I tell people how little I have even come close to crying at films they are usually a little surprised and probably end that conversation thinking I have a heart of stone. Now, that isn’t entirely true, but something has to really hit me in the emotional core for me to be tipped over to tearing up. But I was very recently able to add another film to the very short list of films that had nearly made me cry and so I thought what better time than now to share with the world the films that got me weepy.
After Life (1998) – Hirokazu Kore-eda
We are kicking it off with the film that inspired me to write about this. After Life takes place in an afterlife where people have a week to choose one memory from their life to take with them into eternity. It is a beautiful and poetic exploration of the small moments in life where true happiness lies. It tugs on your emotions consistently throughout, but there is one narrative thread in which I became particularly invested. I won’t spoil it here, but the conclusion of this particular thread is executed brilliantly, being both devastatingly heartbreaking and beautiful all at once and it had me so close to letting them tears flow.
Brokeback Mountain (2005) – Ang Lee
This one comes down more to how brilliantly executed the film is over a narrative hook that particularly spoke to me. The general emotional kick comes from the main romance that is doomed to fail for a variety of reasons, several out of our main characters' control. This isn’t anything that I hadn’t seen before, but this film managed to get me to an emotional state where I was so close to crying. The very last moment of the film is what did it for me, with the emotional heart of the film coming in full throttle to punch me in the tear ducts.
Titanic (1997) – James Cameron
This is the black sheep of this particular list, mainly because I don’t have all that much love for this film. That isn’t to say that I hate it. I think it is solid and I can see why it has connected so much with people and why it is still at the forefront of pop culture. So how has it managed to make this list of films that nearly made me cry? Well, context is king for this one. I watched this film for the first and only time shortly after going through a breakup and it basically hit me exactly where it hurt at the time. I would be very surprised if I would be on the verge of tears, I went back to this one because of how I came into it the first time around.
Schindler’s List (1993) – Steven Spielberg
This is quite possibly the least surprising film you’ll see here. After all, it is a film about one of the evilest and most harrowing acts in human history and so if any film is set up to make you cry before you even sit down to watch it it is something like this. But it wasn’t the film's narrative itself that had me on the verge of tears, although it had done a damned good job after setting me up to get to that point. But where the film almost got me was right at the end when we cut to real life, and we see the real people who were portrayed in the film visiting Oskar Schindler’s grave. It brilliantly hits home that what we just saw is based on real-life events and it is harrowing.
Manchester by the Sea (2016) – Kenneth Lonergan
Speaking of harrowing. This film is a devastating watch. Almost more so than any other film that I’m speaking about here this one left me completely down and out, to the point where I basically had to shut myself off for a little bit afterwards just to get over it. It isn’t miserable, in fact, it has a lot of heart and can be touching at times. But when it wants to et moving it is one hell of a punch in the gut. I can’t get into it without giving major spoilers but be warned, although it didn’t quite get me it may very well leave you a blubbering mess.
Cinema Paradiso (1988) – Giuseppe Tornatore
This one was more like After Life in how it got me feeling weepy, where although the moment was ultimately quite sad, it was also beautiful, and a wonderful portrait of a fantastic relationship and it was this that got me feeling weepy. This was easier to take than several of the other moments that almost made me cry because of this, and it also allows me to revisit the scene in question on its own because it is beautiful in and of itself. It was also helped massively by an Ennio Morricone score that heightens the emotions exponentially.
Grave of the Fireflies (1988) – Isao Takahata
And now we come to the one film that did in fact get me crying. Interestingly enough it didn’t make me cry on my first watch and took until the second go around. The first time it had me very much on the verge of tears, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise, but despite knowing this, and despite knowing exactly where the film was going, it completely broke me the second time around. For someone who has only ever cried at one film, I went bloody big. I was full-on sobbing, just completely devastated by what is a devastating film. I have a full review of this film on this page so you can go and read my full thoughts on it, but despite it breaking me emotionally it sits right near the top of my favourite films ever and stands alone as the only film to make me cry.
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