What’s On? For the Tearjerker Tycoon

Need a sad movie to cheer you up? In this installment, we cover the cathartically sad movies that will play with your emotions in all the right ways.

Awakenings (1990)

Nobody does a tearjerker like Robin Williams, despite his storied background as a comedian. You may be more familiar with his serious side through his performances in Good Will Hunting or Dead Poets Society, but we’d argue that Awakenings deserves a place as one of his best works. Loosely based on a true story from Dr. Oliver Sacks, the film follows the story of Malcolm Sayer, a doctor working in a chronic hospital looking to find the cure for encephalitis. One of his encephalitic patients, Leonard Lowe (Robert DeNiro), is the first to try an experimental drug to reverse the tragic effects of the disease. As they work together to find the answers, Dr. Sayer and Leonard develop a friendship that changes their lives for the better even as Leonard’s condition wavers.

A Silent Voice (2016)

A Silent Voice is an anime film about the relationship between Shoko Nishimiya (Saori Hayami), a deaf girl, and Shoya Ishida (Miyu Irino), her former bully who’s trying to make amends after his behavior makes him a social outcast and destroys his sense of self-worth. It explores the beginning of their interactions as classmates in elementary school, the way their paths diverge once Shoko changes schools, and their reunification as they continue through high school. Along the way, Shoya is able to break out of his shell to befriend Tomohiro (Kenshō Ono), another social outcast, and Yuzuru (Aoi Yūki), Shoko’s younger sister. This movie is a sensitive illustration about the effects of bullying behavior and the difference it makes when we choose to atone for our mistakes, and is certain to make you shed a tear.

Big Fish (2003)

Big Fish is a different side than we normally see from Tim Burton (Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman), one that’s sure to make you a little teary-eyed. It’s a story that spans time, exploring the spectacular life of Edward Bloom (Ewan McGregor as the young version, Albert Finney as the elder) as he approaches death. His son (Billy Crudup) has returned to Alabama to reconnect with his father before they run out of time, and must overcome his disbelief of his father’s outlandish stories to finally restore their broken relationship. With a huge cast (featuring Burton regulars Helena Bonham Carter & Danny DeVito), a sublime score by Danny Elfman, and an ending that is guaranteed to move you, Big Fish is a movie that simply reels you in.

Little Women (1994)

In perhaps one of the most iconically 90s casts ever assembled, Little Women brings to life the March family in the form of Winona Ryder (Jo), Trini Alvarado (Meg), Claire Danes (Beth), Kirsten Dunst (young Amy), & Susan Sarandon (Marmee). And then of course we have peak Christian Bale as Laurie, a perfect casting if there ever was one. We will warn you, he grows a pretty terrible goatee at the halfway point which may just move you to tears, but we like to think the rest of the movie is sweet and sensitive enough to get you there anyways. There’s a reason why Little Women has been remade so many times—it’s a compelling story about the sometimes spectacular, sometimes torturous bonds of sisterhood, the transition from childhood to adulthood, and finding love in some unlikely places.

Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003)

An icon in tearjerker & Bollywood cinema, Kal Ho Naa Ho is driven by a love triangle that is constantly shifting between its trio of main characters. This movie is best left unspoiled, but what we can tell you is that it centers around a young Indian-American woman, Naina (Preity Zinta), and her developing love life. She and her best friend, Rohit, have unrealized feelings for one another, but when Aman (the legendary Shah Rukh Khan) moves into Naina’s neighborhood, his persistence in setting up Naina and Rohit with one another ends up jeopardizing their relationship. Aman, too, falls for Naina’s charms, but his own secret makes him more determined than ever to see her end up with Rohit.