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It feels as though maintaining a reasonable level of mental health is particularly challenging right now, whether we’re talking about clinical depression or just a general feeling of unease brought on by being bombarded with negative news on a much-more-than-daily basis. So a little self-care is rarely a bad idea—and while this is in no way a clinical recommendation, I find that a good cry is often the best way to make myself feel a little better. Just as sad songs are often a comfort in dark times, so are sad movies often just the thing when a good cry is called for.
Some movies earn their tears honestly, while others are more manipulative—the ones sometimes dismissively called tearjerkers. I’m not sure how much it matters, though: Many of us are naturally suspicious of entertainment that moves us, but, like a good jump scare or thrilling action sequence, there’s skill, and art, to plucking at our emotional strings. Just thinking of some of these movies—which are enough to make all but the most hard-hearted among you ugly cry—gets me feeling misty.
A warning though, before we proceed: it’s hard to talk about what makes these movies weepy without getting into some spoilers. Proceed with caution.
Past Lives (2023)
Greta Lee plays Nora, whose family emigrated from South Korea to the United States when she was a child. Years later, and then over the course of several years, she reunites with childhood friend Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), forcing an examination of her life as it is, and as it might have been.
The crying bit: I’m not sure there’s one particular moment here (this isn’t a tearjerker), but the film’s ending—with its cumulative sense of love, loss, and roads not taken—packs a powerful emotional punch. Just posting the trailer here made the tears start welling up in my eyes.
Where to stream: Paramount+, Digital rental
Dancer in the Dark (2000)
Minimalist Dogme 95-style filmmaking somehow meets Douglas Sirk-style melodrama, all mixed up in a stripped-down homage to the artificiality of the Old Hollywood musical. Starring none other than outré Icelandic singer Björk (who apparently had a terrible time making it), this is deeply strange, and strangely compelling, in its story of a Czech immigrant who’s forced into increasingly dire straits as she tries to get the money for a medical procedure that will save her son’s vision.
The crying bit: Björk and company create such a compelling (though bleak) fantasy world that the movie’s ultra-dark denouement hits hard.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Sounder (1972)
A family of sharecroppers in rural Louisiana, lead by Cicely Tyson and Paul Winfield, is tragically disrupted when Winfield’s Nathan Lee Morgan is arrested for having stolen a bit of food.
The crying bit: Sounder, the dog, is a relatively minor part of the film, and, though he does get injured, you needn’t fear any dog-related tragedies. This is one for which the tears really come when the family is reunited.
Where to stream: Prime Video, Peacock, Tubi
Beaches (1988)
Bette Midler has never been so schmaltzy as in this movie charting the ups and downs of her lifelong friendship with Barbara Hershey, beginning way back when Midler’s character is played by Mayim Bialik. Though history hasn’t come to recognize Beaches as an all-time classic, there were a couple of years during which the haunting strains of “Wind Beneath My Wings” were utterly inescapable. Be warned, though: I listened to this soundtrack on repeat around the time this first came on TV, and I’m pretty sure it made me gay.
The crying bit: You can see the death scene coming from all the way down the beach, but only the hardest heart isn’t going to feel a twinge when C.C. and Hillary watch one final sunset.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Love Story (1970)
Less a work of genius, perhaps, than a masterpiece of emotional manipulation, Love Story is a classic tearjerker in the finest tradition of the form. Love means never having to say you’re sorry, and I won’t apologize for recommending this.
The crying bit: After we’ve established the central couple’s meet-cute, opposites-attract relationship and marriage, we’re primed for tragedy when Oliver (Ryan O’Neal) learns that Jenny (Ali McGraw) is terminally ill, attempting to conceal the diagnosis from her (which was, apparently, a thing you could do circa 1970). Alas, this isn’t a movie about successful treatments and permanent remission.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
A young suffragette (Greer Garson) breaks the stiff, stuffy, oh-so-British reserve of teacher Charles Edward Chipping (Robert Donat)
The crying bit: Following the death, in childbirth, of his beloved, Mr. Chips returns to the classroom, stiff upper lip fully starched. It’s clear he’s lost not just his love, but also the joy in living she’d helped him discover.
Where to stream: Digital rental
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018)
Based on the James Baldwin novel and directed by Moonlight’s Barry Jenkins, this is the tragic story of a young couple (played by KiKi Layne and Stephan James) torn apart by a false allegation and injustice.
The crying bit: I’m not sure that there’s a single moment here, and that’s to the non-linear movie’s credit. There’s a pervasive sense of sadness and injustice as we’re drawn deeply into the story of this couple. The most emotional moment is, perhaps, the moment near the end when Tish realizes that there’s no hope of undoing the injustice that landed Funny in jail.
Where to stream: Peacock, Starz, Digital rental
The Color Purple (1985)
Steven Spielberg directs Whoopi Goldberg as the abused Celie, separated from her beloved sister at a young age in rural Georgia of the early 20th century. It’s a better adaptation of Alice Walker’s acclaimed novel than it is often given credit for.
The crying bit: The greatest heartbreaks come closer to the beginning than the end. And, though there are tearful moments throughout, the real catharsis comes when we finally feel like things finally (finally) start looking up for Miss Celie and company. You’re invited to cry at the sad moments and the joyous conclusion.
Where to stream: Tubi, Digital rental
Steel Magnolias (1989)
They used to call this sort of thing a “chick flick,” as though the mere presence of women at the top of the cast list were enough to place a film in its own genre. Regardless, with the all-legend casting of Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts, this is the Avengers of movies set largely in a beauty salon.
The crying bit: The film’s death scene is gutting, but less so than Sally Field’s graveside breakdown, both for its own emotive power and for her realization that she’s not alone. Somehow “Take a whack at Ouiser!” is the film’s supreme moment of catharsis.
Where to stream: Digital rental
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Another great film with women in the lead and a brilliant ensemble cast (including Ming-Na Wen, Rosalind Chao, Tamlyn Tomita, and Lauren Tom), The Joy Luck Club centers around a group of Chinese elders who gather to play Mahjong and trade stories that span generations.
The crying bit: There are plenty of emotional moments across the film’s many vignettes, but by far the most wrenching is the story of Suyuan Woo’s escape from the Japanese invasion of China. Near death and at the end of her strength, she’s forced to abandon her twin daughters. The moment would, understandably, haunt Suuyan and color her relationship with her other daughter, June.
Where to stream: Hulu, Digital rental
Imitation of Life (1959)
Even if it’s not flawless in its perspectives, Imitation of Life is as close to racial consciousness as Hollywood got in the 1950s, doing the original version of the film (from 1934) one better by shifting the focus away from single mother Lora Meredith (here played by Lana Turner) and toward Juanita Moore’s Annie Johnson and her light-skinned-to-the-point-of-passing daughter, Sarah Jane.
The crying bit: Their relationship having entirely broken down through the course of the film, mother and daughter never truly reconcile before Annie’s untimely death. It’s the funeral, though, that clinches it, as Mahalia Jackson sings “Trouble of the World” while Sarah Jane falls on her mother’s casket.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Stella Dallas (1937)
Barbara Stanwyck plays the title’s sassy mill worker’s daughter, whose plans to better her own situation go consistently awry, leading to a deeply unhappy marriage. Eventually, she places all her hopes in her daughter, Laurel.
The crying bit: Circumstances lead Stella to believe that her daughter’s only road to happiness is apart from the troubled mother. So, she forces Laurel away with cruel comments, then watches her daughter’s marriage through a window, sadness and joy mingled in her expression.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Up (2009)
Belying the unfair reputation that cartoons once had as goofy kids’ stuff, the ability of a Pixar movie to reduce grown people to tears is legendary.
The crying bit: The montage, early in the film, depicting Carl Fredricksen’s life with his late wife, Ellie, and their inability to ever save up enough money for their dream trip, is gutting. Gutting. (Later there’s a talking dog, which helps.)
Where to stream: Disney+, Digital rental
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Oh, hey, just Pixar again, here to make us cry over some damn computer generated toys.
The crying bit: You think it’s the ending, but it’s actually the moment when the toys, seemingly at the ends of their usefulness, make their peace with death (if living toys can truly “die”) while on a conveyor belt leading to an incinerator. Yeah, it’s also wistfully sad when Andy passes the toys along to Bonnie, saying goodbye to his childhood, but that’s like a gentle jab after getting hit over the head with a folding chair.
Where to stream: Disney+, Digital rental
The Fox and the Hound (1981)
The kindly Widow Tweed adopts an orphaned fox, Tod, while her neighbor, hunter Amos Blade, brings home a hound named Copper to be his new hunting dog. They become friends. Then they aren’t, and it’s sad.
The crying bit: Oh, lord. We start out with a Bambi-esque death scene and, later, a heartbreaking abandonment. The emotional crux of the film is the bit about how Tod and Copper will “always be friends forever.” But fate has other ideas.
Where to stream: Disney+, Digital rental
Old Yeller (1957)
A young boy (Tommy Kirk) has a lovely, special bond with the titular Labrador Retriever in Texas of the late 1860s.
The crying bit: Let’s just say that Old Yeller doesn’t fare terribly well here. They made this movie for kids, if you can believe it.
Where to stream: Disney+, Digital rental
The NeverEnding Story (1984)
Ten-year-old Bastian Bux is an outcast (translated from movie parlance: a reader) who finds himself drawn into his new book rather literally, as he’s gradually pulled into the story of warrior Atreus, on a quest to save The Childlike Empress from “The Nothing” in the world of Fantasia.
The crying bit: Atreyu’s faithful steed, Artax, is overcome in the Swamp of Sadness. It’s a genuinely powerful emotional moment, representing a low point for both Bastion and Atreyu.
Where to stream: Digital rental
A Star Is Born (1954)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, the 2018 Lady Gaga version is sad, too, but this earlier version is the template (we can’t call it the original, since it’s the second of four takes, and not the same general plot). Judy Garland stars alongside James Mason as one half of a Hollywood power couple—except that her star is in the ascendant, while his is in substance-dependent decline.
The crying bit: Upon her return to the stage following her husband’s death, Vicki announces herself as “Mrs. Norman Maine.” A little awkward, perhaps, to modern eyes, but still rather stirring in context. It’s also rather poignant that this was meant to be Judy Garland’s big comeback, but inexplicably died at the box office.
Where to stream: Tubi, Digital rental
The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
The John Green adaptation stars Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort as two teens who meet at a support group for cancer patients, before going on a whirlwind trip to Amsterdam to meet one of their favorite authors and find out why his last book doesn’t really have an ending.
The crying bit: It’s not entirely, nor unnecessarily, maudlin, but it’s a movie about two kids with cancer, one of whom turns out to have a terminal diagnosis. Their first kiss is at the Anne Frank House. So, take your pick.
Where to stream: Disney+, Digital rental
Brief Encounter (1945)
Director David Lean is best known today for his epics: Lawrence of Arabia, A Passage to India, etc. But this early classic of his is every bit as impressive a work, even if the scale is much smaller. Laura is a respectable middle-class woman in a stable but dull marriage, while Alec is an idealistic doctor, also married with children. They start running into each other whenever Laura goes to a nearby town for a bit of shopping and, as their relationship and affections develop, each separation becomes more difficult.
The crying bit: It’s what doesn’t happen that breaks your heart here, as the final encounter between the two is interrupted and cut short.
Where to stream: Max, The Criterion Channel, Prime Video
Inside Out (2015)
The Disney/Pixar tear train has been running for a long time—at least since Bambi—and Inside Out continues the tradition ably. Here we venture into the mind of 11-year-old Riley, processing her feelings about a family move via personifications of emotions with personalities of their own.
The crying bit: Bing Bong. Definitely Bing Bong. Oh, god, Bing Bong.
Where to stream: Disney+, Digital rental
The Iron Giant (1999)
In Cold War-era Maine, a giant alien robot becomes the focus of fear and paranoia from an American military who can only see his potential as a weapon.
The crying bit: Is is the moment when the Giant realizes that he can be what he chooses to be, saying “Superman” as he sacrifices himself to save Hogarth and his other friends? Or the bit at the end when it appears that he didn’t die after all? I mean, it’s definitely the first one—but they’re both incredibly emotional.
Where to stream: Digital rental
Titanic (1997)
Titanic’s extraordinary popularity has bred a certain cynicism about the movie, with discussion turning on the relative buoyancy of floating doors and the camp appeal of Billy Zane. There’s still a brilliantly constructed old-school Hollywood epic here, of the kind they truly don’t make anymore. In theaters in 1997, the final scenes were typically drowned out (sorry, pun intended) by the sounds of sobbing audiences—and time hasn’t entirely dulled that power.
The crying bit: She says that she’ll never let go. But she absolutely lets go. But then they meet again on the ship where dreams are born, and they look so young and pretty, and everyone claps. (Thank god they skipped the original ending.)
Where to stream: Paramount+, Prime Video
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Baz Luhrmann’s over-the-top, La Bohème-inspired jukebox musical about star-cross’d lovers in turn-of-the-20th-century Paris was never going to have an entirely happy ending.
The crying bit: Once you see the blood on the handkerchief, you know how it’s going to end. I’m not sure that consumption was nearly so elegant a way to go as the movies suggest, but, in this case, there’s so much spectacle and distraction that we’ve almost forgotten the foreshadowing, setting up an ending that still manages to come as a bit of a shock.
Where to stream: Hulu, Apple TV+
The Farewell (2019)
New York-based Chinese-American writer Billi (Awkwafina) learns from her parents that her grandmother, diagnosed with lung cancer, has just months to live. They’ve decided not to tell her, and are concerned that their Americanized daughter won’t keep the secret if she travels to China to spend time with Nai Nai during her final days.
The crying bit: It’s not a maudlin movie, despite the subject matter, but the night, near the end of the film, when Nai Nai encourages Bill to live life on her own terms, got me. There are also tears to be had at the film’s surprisingly upbeat ending. It’s also sadder because it’s all true.
Where to stream: Max, Digital rental
The Laramie Project (2002)
A theatre company travels to Laramie, Wyoming to meet with and interview residents in the aftermath of the murder of Matthew Shepard. Based on the same-named play, the film is a curious hybrid of cinema, theater, and documentary with a cast of recognizable names.
The crying bit: Being the story of the very real Matthew Shepard, this one cuts deeper than the more explicitly fictional narratives, and might be a bit much if you’re looking for some gentle catharsis. Still, there’s no question that it’s a worthwhile and important watch—the moment when a local gay resident (played by Bill Irwin) relates his emotions following a parade in Shepard’s honor hits particularly hard.
Where to stream: Max, Digital rental
Sophie’s Choice (1982)
From the William Styron novel, we gradually learn the story of Polish immigrant Sophie Zawistowska, a Holocaust survivor who was faced with a particularly horrific choice, as the title suggests.
The crying bit: Near the end, we learn that Sophie had to choose between her two children upon entering Auschwitz.
Where to stream: Peacock, The Criterion Channel, Tubi, Crackle, Prime Video
Ordinary People (1980)
A family drama elevated by some truly excellent performances, Ordinary People deals with the impact of tragedy on a family led by an increasingly emotionally distant mother (Mary Tyler Moore).
The crying bit: There are plenty of emotional scenes in this drama, but there’s a moment during a therapy session when Timothy Hutton’s Conrad expresses his feelings over the sailing accident that killed his brother, admitting that he considers having survived his greatest failure, that really smacked me in the face.
Where to stream: Max, Digital rental
Just Mercy (2019)
Michael B. Jordan plays the real-life attorney and activist Bryan Stevenson, here at the beginning of his career and representing the wrongfully convicted Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx).
The crying bit: We know that the criminal justice system fails Black Americans more often than not, which makes the happy ending here (which, granted, only comes after McMillian serves multiple years on death row) a brief, but joyous moment.
Where to stream: Prime Video
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
Quvenzhané Wallis plays Hushpuppy, who constructs an elaborate fantasy world around her Louisiana Bayou community and her ailing father.
The crying bit: Confronting the much-feared aurochs, Hushpuppy saves the people of her island in the face of her father’s death, at which point she gives him one hell of a funeral.
Where to stream: Digital rental
