Let's Get Weepy

Every so often the topic of sad movies comes up, and inevitably I recommend the same few films.
















I've wept at the conclusion of quite a few films. Schindler's List, Life is Beautiful, and a few other well known pictures. The end of The Iron Giant is particularly devastating. I even get a bit upset at the end of Scrooge.

My list is comprised of movies that kind of fly under the radar; films that not many people I know have seen or even heard of.


IKIRU

I've seen Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru come up on a few people's lists. It's not a tearjerker in the traditional sense, but leaves you with such a life-affirming joy you can't help but get misty-eyed.



Absolutley fantastic movie, originally recommended to me by my friend Sean. Takashi Shimura, who appeared in many of Kurosawa's films, turns in one of his finest performances.


MADADAYO

Another great Kurosawa film, Madadayo is paced very slowly, but one of the final scenes really chokes me up.

The IMDB synopsis:

This film tells the story of professor Uehida Hyakken-sama (1889-1971), in Gotemba, around the forties. He was a university professor until an air raid, when he left to become a writer and has to live in a hut. His mood has hardly changed, not by the change nor by time. Every year his students celebrate his birthday, issuing the question "Mahda kai?" (not yet?), just to hear Uehida-san's answer "Madada yo!" (No, not yet!), in a ritual of self affirmation.




LAST NIGHT

I know of only two people who've ever seen or heard of Don McKellar's Last Night. Curiously enough, a friend of mine mentioned seeing it on TV last week. I still remembering seeing it at the Towne Theatre when it was released, and holding my breath for the last two incredible minutes.

For those itnerested, the entire film has been posted on YouTube.

Part 1:




DANCER IN THE DARK

How can a musical starring Bjork be the most upsetting film ever made? I'm not sure how it happened, but man, this film isn't just depressing, it's traumatizing. Among fans of indie cinema and foreign films, Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark comes up as #1 on a lot of "saddest movie" lists.



I've seen a few other movies by von Trier, and they've all been intriguing and well made, but I think this has been his best work so far.


MY FLESH AND BLOOD

To be fair, this is a documentary. But honest to god, you will never see anything so simultaneously uplifting and emotionally scarring. After watching this, you'll want to call everyone you ever loved and tell them how much they mean to you.



I can say with only mild hyperbole:

If the end of this film does not upset you, you are borderline inhuman.


-Jay