Some movies can emotionally wreck you, but sometimes you need a good cry. A movie fan in a popular online forum asked for recommendations for films that will “make me bawl my eyes out.” Here are 15 movies that are guaranteed to have you reaching for the tissues.
1. Marley and Me (2008)
Aw, a cute dog movie! You're going to want to have a tissue… or two (maybe a whole box) handy for this one though. Newlyweds (played by Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson) move to Florida, work at competing newspapers, adopt a yellow lab puppy (who is a handful), and start a family. The film explores the connection we have with our pets.
2. Room (2015)
One movie fan said the 2015 film Room will shred your emotions. “Just when you think all is well in the world, it comes back and punches you in the gut again,” they explained.
Room stars Brie Larson as a woman held captive for seven years and Jacob Trembley as her son born in captivity. They escape, but the adjustment to the outside world is not an easy one.
3. 50/50 (2011)
The film, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, and Anna Kendrick, mixes comedy, drama, and plenty of heartbreak.
Adam Lerner (Gordon-Levitt) is a 27-year-old public radio journalist who is diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in his spine. The movie focuses on how Adam deals with his mortality, as he's given a 50% chance to live, and how it affects those around him.
4. Coco (2017)
This Disney and Pixar film is known for being an emotional roller coaster. Coco follows Miguel, a young aspiring musician who dreams big despite his family's ban on music. Miguel's adventure takes him through the Land of the Dead as he discovers the true story of his family's history.
5. Interstellar (2014)
Christopher Nolan‘s sci-fi epic is as ambitious as it is likely to make you reach for the Kleenex. Interstellar follows a group of NASA scientists who attempt to save mankind by discovering a distant planet for humanity to inhabit after Earth is rendered unlivable.
6. Blood Diamond (2006)
Blood Diamond is a political war action thriller film. The title references diamonds mined in war zones, then sold to finance conflicts that profit diamond companies and warlords globally. The movie centers around the Sierra Leone Civil War of 1991–2002.
7. The Color Purple (1985)
The Color Purple is a coming-of-age period drama following a young Black girl transformed while discovering her self-worth with the help of two strong women. The film highlights the struggles of Black women during the twentieth century, including poverty, racism, domestic violence, and pedophilia.
8. The Green Mile (1999)
The Green Mile is a fantasy drama set during the Great Depression based on Stephen King's novel. It tells the story of an enigmatic death row inmate with supernatural gifts and the correctional officers who witness it.
9. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Grave of the Fireflies is a Japanese anime war tragedy film based on Akiyuki Nosaka's semi-autobiographical story. It follows two siblings trying desperately to survive in the final months of World War II.
10. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
A Woman Under the Influence is a classic drama following an unstable woman with volatile behavior leading to her husband committing her to an institution for six months. He raises their trio of children, which holds various surprises, while awaiting her return.
11. Dear Zachary (2008)
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father is a documentary chronicling the story of writer, director, and producer Kurt Kueene's friend Andrew Bagby. Sadly, Andy ended a relationship with a woman and she murdered him. She then fled to Canada, where she walked free on bail.
She revealed she was pregnant shortly after and named the child Zachary. Kueene created this cinematic scrapbook filled with interviews with loved ones and associates of Andrew honoring Zachary's father. At the same time, the family fights for custody.
12. House of Sand and Fog (2003)
House of Sand and Fog is a sad psychological drama about the battle between a young woman and an Iranian immigrant family over the ownership of a house in Northern California. It eventually leads to the destruction of four lives.
13. About Time (2013)
About Time is a sci-fi comedy-drama following a time traveler who falls in love. However, he soon discovers that he can't change history or protect himself or his loved ones from life's daily problems.
14. Sophie's Choice (1982)
Sophie's Choice is a drama following a Polish immigrant in America living with a dark secret from her past. She lives with her lover and a young writer in Brooklyn who soon learns she's a Holocaust survivor. The story flashes between her pre-war prosperity to Auschwitz and the present day.
15. Titanic (1997)
Titanic is a romance-disaster story with historical and fictionalized accountings of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. James Cameron did a phenomenal job ensuring historically accurate details surrounding the fictional love story between Jack and Rose. The tragedy is much more devastating when you understand everything that happened outside of the Jack and Rose romance.
Source: Reddit.