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People Explain Which Movie Never Fails To Make Them Cry

People Explain Which Movie Never Fails To Make Them Cry
Photo by Gadiel Lazcano on Unsplash

Movies are made to touch us deeply, as they mirror our human experiences back at us.

Movies that have that kind of impact are not to be taken lightly. They often deal with heavy subject matter that there is no sugarcoating: for example, the film Grave Of The Fireflies deals with some extremely harsh realities of what it was like to live in Japan during WWII, as we see the suffering brought on two innocent children.

These movies are made to do something to you--not just for you to view.


Redditor ayebrando asked:

"What movie genuinely made you cry?"

Here were some of those answers.

Why We Don't Spread Rumors

"Jagten, a Danish movie about a kindergarten teacher falsely accused of molesting his best friends daughter. At one point someone kills his dog, and the scene where he digs a hole in the rain to bury his dog is hartbreaking."-Cashewkaas

The Most Famous Bit Of A Long And Famous Film

"Dear Fellas. I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry."

"The parole board got me into this halfway house called the Brewer, and a job bagging groceries at the Food-Way. It's hard work. I try to keep up, but my hands hurt most of the time. I don't think the store manager likes me very much."

"Sometimes after work I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello. But he never does. I hope wherever he is, he's doing okay and making new friends. I have trouble sleeping at night."

"I have -- bad dreams, like I'm falling. I wake up scared. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember where I am. Maybe I should get me a gun and rob the Food-Way, so they'd send me home. I could shoot the manager while I was at it, sort of like a bonus."

"I guess I'm too old for that sort of nonsense anymore. I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me."-Artegor2

When You're The Best Of Friends

"Oh my god, the fox and the hound is way too low on this list. When Todd gets taken to the forest.... I can't..."

"Aaaaand I just realized this may be why I'm so adamant about pets being pets for life. I literally lost it when my husband suggested we may need to rehome one of our cats because she doesn't like our other 2 and was peeing on all our beds. We haven't."-ladydemeter88

Not one of these films has left eyes dry as it played for an audience.

And Have We Learned A Thing?

"The Green Mile--the 'I'm afraid of the dark' scene. The acting performance in that scene, and in the film in general, are incredible."

"You can see the dance of emotions playing across Tom Hanks' face when he shakes John Coffey's hand. Watching Brutal, the big man of the prison, with eyes welling and jaw clenching, pains you."

"The knowledge that they've witnessed miracles from this good and kind man, who faces a painful and unjust death, is heartbreaking. It's a tragic, devastating and yet beautiful scene. I cry every time."-Boorish_Bear

Viel Späß

"Jojo Rabbit. I still think about that movie. There's a lot of subtlety and depth considering it's such a controversial topic to satirize. The fact that Hitler is so kind and silly at first passes over you, or you think it's just for comic relief."

"You realize that JoJo has never actually met Hitler and he's just a naive kid. This Hitler is somebody entirely of his own creation and is actually a better reflection of who HE is on the inside."

"It's easy to understand how such young children were influenced and taught to 'hate,' many without really hating."-Universal_Vitality

Take Her To The Moon For Me

"I haven't seen the entirety of Inside Out, and frankly I refuse to. We would have movie days with the kids at my work and this movie usually won the vote."

"I'm the senior lead of my group, so during the movies I would step out and take care of other things or prepare for the next activity, only peeking through the door every so often to make sure my other leaders are on task or that my kids aren't being disruptive."

"I made the mistake of coming in to watch for a bit during the Bing Bong scene. I walked in, couldn't take my eyes off the screen, and then immediately had to leave because I started crying."

"I sat in the bathroom for like 10 minutes after that because I was crying so much. I refuse to watch the rest of the movie because of that. I know the movie is really good, I've heard amazing things and I've seen a few clips of it, but this scene just wrecked me enough that I couldn't."-duuckyy

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War Never Changes

"Saving Private Ryan. Both grandpas were in WWll. It made me realize what they went through and how easily I could have ended up never existing. Really shows what war is and Doesnt dress it up to make it look cool or heroic."-Notesandstuff

It's because we crave these moments of catharsis, understanding, and loving tin our own lives that we gravitate so deeply to these films.

The Real Stakes Of Being A Parent

"Interstellar made me cry twice, once when he got back from the planet that made decades pass in minutes for him and he watched a bunch of videos from his kids that grew into adults, and then when he was yelling at himself to not leave."-uhokbutwhy

"When he watched the videos from his kids we had to stop the movie for like 10 minutes. I've cried in sad movies, but I've never lost my sh*t like that during a movie."-WizardofN0Z

Ten Million Fireflies

"Grave of the Fireflies. I cried, but even worse was the depressed/grief feeling that would hit me at odd times for like weeks after."

"I'd be fine and then some memory from it would return and it would feel like my heart got punched. Most haunting film I've ever seen."-gugalgirl

"This movie was emotionally brutal. Seen with Totoro in its original double bill must have been a complete heartf*ck."

"The saddest movie and the most heartwarming together, I hope Totoro was second because the other way round would send you off a cliff."-cagesound

Pixar Again

"I watched Up with my Grandpa six months after my Grandma died. It was incredibly therapeutic. Two grown a** men ugly cried during that montage."

"The rest of the movie where the old man learns that his wife would want him to keep living instead of being an old grump struck a chord with my Grandpa. And the fight scene between the old men had my Grandpa howling. 11/10 I recommend."-eddiewachowski

Not The Killer Jack

"Almost every Christmas/Holiday season I'd toon in or get a glimpse of 'Jack Frost,' the one with Michael Keaton in it (not the serial killer, lol)."

"Anyways, the main protagonist, Charlie, loses his dad in an car accident while driving throw a snowstorm for a show. A year later, he builds a snowman all by himself when traditionally he'd do it with his dad."

"But it's quite bittersweet now that Jack is gone and the snowman building is a memory of his dad that made him happy, and as a way to cope with his own grief."

"I've haven't had the experience of losing my dad, but the whole scene paired up with Fleetwood Mac's 'Landslide' always challenged me to not well up by the end of it, and I'd often lose."

"Another movie that was a tearjerker from when I saw it way back in theatres was the end of Inside Out."-JadedDesolation

The Aminals

"Homeward Bound, the newer version with Sally fields and Michael j Fox doing voice overs. When the old man dog comes limping over the hill i just can't help it. Also the Movie Lion. That one makes me tear up."-Daladain

"THERE'S A NEWER ONE?!"-SoccerGamerGuy7

It's An Art To Be Moved

"Coco is a tear-jerker, but it’s too much. I hate super sad movies because they leave me feeling drained. Coco is a prime example. I refuse to watch dog movies because they’re always sad because the dog always dies."

"My favorite tear-jerker is Onward because it’s sad, but it’s not so sad that I feel drained. I love the dynamic between the characters, too."-eksyte

Stay Gold

"I recently saw the directors cut of 'The Outsiders' in the cinema. I've seen the film and read the book I don't know how many times and I've cried. But this time was different."

"I bawled through the entire last half of the film. I lived a youth very close to the characters in the film and I lost a lot of friends. I have two older brothers who are just like Soda and Darry."

"Everything in that film just hits so close to home."-MrC99

It's A Metaphor

"The Fault in our Stars, and the book did too. I know it’s pretty much a standard YA romance flick but it’s pretty genuine. There’s no fantasy element to it like they’re not in a dystopian society, they’re not wizards, not vampires, not fighting demons, etc."

"Just two perfectly normal teenagers, even if their character archetypes were a little pretentious and melodramatic. (Cigarettes are a metaphor, really?)"

"There’s also no great drama or love triangle. They’re just honestly and earnestly in love with each other. But they’re fighting a monster that’s just all to real and causes so much heartbreak and suffering in this world - cancer."

"The scene where Grace/Hazel or whatever finds out (movie) and narrates (book) his death really got me. No one deserves that slow death by sickness. That suffering and humiliation."

"And even though teen love is romanticized and dramatized it really was portrayed in an honest way that had meaning and realness. Such sadness and a tragedy for something so good between two good people to be ripped away like that."-TheVapingPug

The Artists Know

"Disney’s : Soul. This will contain SPOILERS. I guess the reason it made me cry was because when I watched the trailer about a guy stuck teaching the piano to kids instead of playing on stage professionally suddenly dying—my initial thought was this will have a very predictable plot and ending."

"To my surprise, they touched a very different subject. I thought it would encourage us to finally pursue what we really want and that we shouldn’t put a hold on it because life is short and you’ll miss out."

"The movie however revealed that, sometimes these dreams are overrated and that we miss out on life because we think life only begins when we get to have what we always wanted."

"Life doesn’t begin in the future, life is happening RIGHT NOW, and so we must be fully here to live it. I don’t know that was just something that spoke so deeply to me."-sasameseed

Movies have the power to change us as people after experiencing them. One of the greatest human superpowers is empathy, and through our empathy we developed this art form to tell each other about....well, each other.

The next time you're crying at a film, remember-how beautiful it is that we can have such experiences at all.

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Things People Secretly Love But Would Never Admit To In Public

Reddit user sweet_chick283 asked: 'What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?;

Collection of VHS tapes
Bruno Guerrero/Unsplash

What makes us all unique is our passions and the things we love, whether it's singing in the shower, reading books, or listening to specific music artists.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where we are judged for our various tastes and interests thanks to social media, and it makes us consciously selective about sharing the things we love on the internet.

Curious to hear about people's personal desires under anonymity, Redditor sweet_chick283 asked:

"What do you secretly love that you would never admit to in public?"

These aren't really chores for the following Redditors.

Good Clean Fun

"Mopping, im a janitor and generally hate my work... but damn mopping is so good."

– MrDDog06

"When you have a great rhythm going it is something special. I get the same feeling while I vacuum, but won’t let my wife know I enjoy it."

– Bogus_34

Act Of Unwrinkling

"Ironing clothes. A dozen of them. Can’t explain how it relaxes me. I told one person and they looked at me like I’m crazy."

– eerie_white_glow

"My mum misses the days when dad would be out on a Friday night, my brother out with friends and me upstairs quietly playing PS1. She would pour herself a Bacardi & Coke and do the ironing while watching her TV shows."

"I'm sure she doesn't really miss it now that we've moved out and they've retired but it was her wind-down after a busy working week so I can see how people can find it relaxing."

– xdq

Our solo actions can spark joy.

Big Brother Is Watching

"pretending to be on the Truman show and whenever im in my house i act all inconspicuous so they dont know that i know that they’re watching me."

– Bec_121

"C’mon man, you’re not supposed to let him know. You signed a contract when signing up for live views. I’m reporting you."

– doeswaspsmakehoney

The Multi-Tasker

"Playing video games naked at home while eating cheese."

– thickening_agent

Releasing The Kraken

"I love the feeling when you've eaten good fibre and let out a solid long train log in the toilet. That feeling is heavenly."

– therapoootic

"Even better when it’s a clean wipe and not a poo crayon."

– TheWarmestHugz

Ultimate Comfort

"My (male 41) weekend routine is coming home from work, make hot chocolate, start a fire, dress in a ugly pink nightgown made for old ladies and watch forensic files."

– crazyloomis

Some people are obsessed with collecting things.

So Kawai

"Sanrio stationery stores. All those different multicolor pens, a thousand kinds of erasers, spiral bound notebooks galore... my kids sadly have absolutely no appreciation for this wonderland..."

– HavingNotAttained

It's A Staple

"Office supplies have a weird, special place in my heart ever since I was a kid. They don't even have to be 'cute' necessarily."

"Japan's legendary stationery stores is unironically a reason I want to go."

– _CozyLavender_

Not Caring Anymore

"The older I get the shorter that list gets. Not because I love less things, but because I don't care about hiding it."

– Bi-Beast

"YES!! I'm 53 now. I'm working my first job in public since 2006. Today is Halloween and we're allowed to dress up so I am sitting here waiting to go to work dressed as a VERY bad Wednesday Addams. My bf said I'd 'look stupid' because no one else will probably dress up and I'm like, 'WHO CARES!' My makeup looks horrible and not like I practiced, but I DO NOT CARE! I'm having fun with it anyhow and I don't care if my coworkers dress up or not. I'm bein' ME! :)"

– deanie1970

Honorable mentions start here.

The Savior

"Picking up worms from the street and sidewalks when it rains and moving them into the dirt so they don’t burn in the sun, every time it rains I do this."

– sky_kitten89

Hero Of The Moment

"Yoooo I scoot SO many snails and worms. I work as a tech/mechanic at an automotive shop, I had a peoject car towed to my house the other day and it was covered in snails. I saw them when the tow guy/coworker was unloading and I was like, 'oh! It comes with free snails!' and began moving them. He laughed then realized and said, '... Oh, you're serious. Uh... Okay.'"

"I don't care who knows it. These little things barely can look out for themselves, why shouldn't we if we can take a moment to help? I don't care what happens next, it probably doesn't matter overall but I can help this moment."

– chris14020

Why should some of the hidden desires mentioned above have to be secret?

Redditors opening up about some of these would make them a hit at parties–no shaming.

As a matter of fact, I'll totally be down for a Forensic Files viewing party where we all make hot chocolate, light the fireplace, and cozy up together in our respective pink ugly nightgowns for old ladies.

historical reenactors
Sigmund on Unsplash

We've probably all heard some variation of the saying "Truth is stranger than fiction."

Real life isn't just strange, it can also be downright ridiculous.

History is riddled with moments of absurdity.

So ridiculous that people have a hard time believing real life is, well, really real.

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