
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
These Actors Were Perfectly Cast In Their Roles | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
Sometimes an actor comes along that is able to reach the audience on a deeper level. The actor that immediately comes to mind is Robin Williams. Although it ...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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Everyone has their travel bucket list.
The list of places they absolutely must visit before they die.
There are those, however, who also have a rather different list of destinations.
The places that have no intention to visit.
Be it for safety concerns, language barriers, or simply that there's nothing at these places that calls to them, there are places some wouldn’t dream of spending the time and money to visit.
Redditor TrooperJohn was curious to hear which places were at the very bottom of the list of travel destinations for his fellow Redditors, leading them to ask:
"What is a popular tourist destination you have no interest in visiting?"
Oasis in the desert? No thank you.
"Dubai."
"Why and whats special about it?"
"Its a modern city in a desert."- Maximum_Calendar_791.
"Dubai."
"A fake city with fake people, no human rights, where the world's tallest buildings hide corruption and slavery in their shadows."
"It's like someone decided to take every problem of mankind and concentrate it in one spot."- PayNoNoticeOfMe.
"Dubai one i think it is ugly two I would die in two minutes of me being there I can't stand anything above 40 c°."- BookWormPerson.
One of the seven wonders is one too many for me.
"The pyramids. "
"Too many horror stories of Egypt."- Aemiom.
Landlocked.
"Not really a destination, but taking a cruise."- Shortbus_Playboy.
Mountains aren't really my thing.
"Everest."
"Just why."
"You use a bunch of money to get in there them come down."
"And trash your whole way there. It's literally a corner in the Earth insufferable for humans and we still made a way to go there to trash it."- ACLullaby.
It's in my own backyard... but still not interested.
"I have lived about 15km away from the Burj Khalifa ever since it was made."
"I could not care any less besides the occasional pointing out the 'shiny tall building' to my nieces.- legolosss.
The pictures are enough for me.
"Mount Rushmore."
"Friends who've made the journey to Mount Rushmore mostly say it was no big deal and not worth the effort or expense to travel there."- Back2Bach.
Hustle and Bustle? No thanks.
"Anything busy.'
"Whether it's cities, structures, I don't care."
"I'd rather go to a boring empty quiet place than a place full of people."- TheSmeep.
They're watching us.
"That creepy a** place in Japan with all the realistic dolls."
"No thank you."
Some dream of paying a visit to these places.
Others hope they never have to set foot there, and will choose to leave it to the other millions of tourists.
To each, their own.
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When it comes to electing a leader, the choice is an easy one if a potential candidate shares the same values as yours.
And while a candidate is fit to lead remains to be seen, we rely on our instinct to choose someone with whom we can relate.
But sometimes, our options are limited and we inevitably go with someone who is the lesser of two evils.
Curious to hear from strangers online about a hypothetical, Redditor Cashmeresquid2309 asked:
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for an openly Atheist presidential candidate? Why or why not?"

Redditors were quick to point out the answer was a no-brainer.
We Already Know The Answer
"Asking Reddit if they'd vote for an atheist..."
"I feel like the answer would be obvious."
– sarahmagoo
Sci-Fi Analogy
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for a Star Wars fan who heckin loves doggos?"
– WitnessChemical
For The Atheists In The Crowd
"Atheists of atheistville, would you vote for an open atheist?"
– nixcamic
Others weighed in with a range of opinions.
About 45
"What's funny is how many of them would probably say no, even though they voted for Trump and would do so again. Say whatever else you want about him, but I seriously can't understand how anyone could genuinely believe Trump is a Christian. He's so obviously faking it and is undoubtedly the most atheistic president we've ever had or are likely to have for a long time."
"This is a guy who's never even so much as read the Bible or attended church, who told a conservative radio host his favorite Bible verse was 'an eye for an eye', who told evangelical interviewers that he's never asked God for forgiveness because he's never done anything wrong, and who routinely commits all 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) without remorse."
– empfindsamkeit
From A Different Perspective
"Not an american but interestingly according to this survey on 1006 people from 2007, being atheist was the worst thing you could be as a candidate (of the things asked) with only 45 % of people saying they'd vote for one."
– ilovecatfish
An atheist candidate isn't necessarily a big strike.
Double Negative
"I wouldn’t not vote for someone just because they were atheist."
– HabitualEnthusiast
Credibility First
"This is it. If they’re running on platforms I support with a history to back up those campaign promises, I don’t care if they belong to the church of the flying spaghetti monster. They could literally be a member of the satanic temple and I, an actual practicing Christian, would give less shi*s than a constipated sloth."
"Edit: yes, I realize the Satanic Temple does not actually worship satan. I used it for that purpose. The Church of Satan has some…problematic views and I probably would not vote for someone who literally holds a platform of eugenics."
– Phoenix_of_Asclepius
Some view the role of religion in politics as important.
It Depends
"Religion can be relevant: I would have strong reservations about voting for a Scientologist, even if I agreed with the policies they proposed. I would have strong reservations voting for a member of an apocalyptic cult or, possibly worse, a follower of the (highly heretical) 'prosperity gospel,' which unfortunately includes more and more so-called 'evangelicals' — I didn't vote for George W. Bush, but it's not because he was an evangelical."
"It depends on the role: I'd probably be more flexible with a legislator than an executive (mayor, governor, president), as their character is IMO more important than for a legislator and their policy stances somewhat less important relative to a legislator."
"Satanic temple — well, that's just an organized group of atheists and humanists with an intentionally inflammatory choice of name. They're generally fine people."
– alyssasaccount
A Bad Rap
"The Satanic Temple is an excellent organization that every decent person should be able to respect. A Church of Satan member, not so much."
"There's a huge difference between them!"
– StarsEatArtBooks
And Redditor boganvegan said it best.
"Better an open atheist than a fake Christian."
It all boils down to trustworthiness. Without full transparency, how could anyone put their faith in a candidate who spews nothing but lies?
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Being home alone isn't always the most tranquil thing.
No one is there to help or protect you.
And things that go "bump" in the night... sometimes they do more than bump.
Redditor ag9910 wanted to hear about the times home felt like an unsafe place to be. They asked:
"What is the scariest, strangest, most unexplainable thing that has happened to you while home alone?"
I'm always freaked out when I'm home alone. Lights on. Yeah, my electric bill is high.
Dorothy?
"I dreamed the front door blew open at the exact time the house alarm went off... I hopped up and sure enough, the front door was open. No intruder."
fatowl
I See You
"Not home alone but only one in right side of the house. Went to my mom's bathroom to wash my hands and saw a pair of feet behind the half open door. Laughed and said 'very funny Ma, I see you.' then finished up and left. Bumped into my mother in the kitchen unpacking, nobody else was in the house. I'm glad whatever was behind the door didn't peek out."
SatanWithFur
“It’s Doug!”
"One night I had forgotten to lock my apartment door and woke up in the middle of the night. My bedroom door was about 2 feet from my front door, as you walked into the apartment. First a big dog ran by, then a person. Holy crap I was so scared and I screeched 'Who is it?!?!!'"
"A man said 'It’s Doug!' As I was thinking to myself, who the f**k is Doug, he said 'oh, crap.' He turned around to go back out the front door saying 'Sorry.' I asked 'Didn’t you have a dog with you?' He said 'Oh, yeah. Hey, c’mon!.' He left, his dog ran out after him and I locked my front door."
"Edit: glad you all thought this was funny, because I did too, once my heart quit trying to beat right out of my chest! The next day the girls at work thought I was crazy for not being upset, but eh, done is done. Peace!"
scarletohairy
Confused...
"My sister and I were home alone and we heard someone big running up the stairs. The stairs make lots of noise with slight pressure so when there’s someone big on them you can tell. I went out of my room to check but saw no one anywhere and my sister also came out of her room and she asked if that was me I said no and we both looked around to see if there was anyone but found no one in the whole house. We were confused and called our parents and just waited until they got back and that was that."
JtSudbury04
I See You
"I very clearly saw a guy walk into my room. But when I went after him there was nobody there. I checked in the closet, under my bed, everywhere one could hide in my room."
HighlyOffensive10
This is why home video surveillance is key.
"NO"
"My parents were on a road trip, just left, and I sat down at my desk. I thought 'Weekend alone by myself' and a voice yelled into my right ear 'NO' so loud it hurt."
Th4ab
Wild
"I managed to lock myself out of my house on my birthday during a tornado while trying to bring my cats to the basement for safety. I later found out that the tornado was approximately a couple miles or less from me at that exact time. The sky was green and it got weirdly calm and then I could hear what sounded like a train coming before I found an unlocked window to climb through. Wild times."
SilverGnarwhal
Saturday morning in the 80s...
"I wasn't home alone but I was awake by myself one Saturday morning in the 80s when I was around 7 or so. I believe my mom was the only one home because my dad went to the lake to go fishing that weekend, and I'm not sure where my older brothers were, maybe they went with him, idk."
"Anyways, my mom's sleeping in, and I'm in the living room by myself, watching Saturday morning cartoons and making a fort out of sheets and cushions. Something made me turn around and I saw my dad in his pajamas standing in the hallway entrance with his hands on his hips, looking the mess I was making and shaking his head."
"He then turned around and walked into my room, which was just off the hallway entrance. Dude. I didn't even look, I just booked it to my parents room and woke my mom up. I don't remember what happened after that, this was around 35 years ago. And yes, my dad was fine, nothing had happened to him."
smriversong
Get the Bat...
"I was at home by myself on a call with some friends when all of a sudden my dog begins to bark like crazy, which was odd since it was the middle of the night and he's usually sleep. I go downstairs to check on him and find him barking at our hall closet, terrified I grabbed my bat that I keep in my room just in case and open the door. There was nothing out of usual at first at then I look down and notice a familiar looking object at the bottom of the closet."
"It was my mom's necklace she had lost when I was 9, (i'm 15 now just to put in perspective how long it's been). I showed it to my mom at breakfast and she was just as shocked as I was. I still have no clue how it got there or how my dog knew it was in there, definitely one of the oddest occurrences of my life."
SomeRandomIdiot14
Meow
"Many years ago, I was 14 or so, my first night alone in the house when my parents were out. Lying on the living room floor reading, my cat sleeping next to me."
"Suddenly, cat wakes up, stares intently into the dark corner of the room behind me, hair on end, growls and then bolts out of the room and upstairs. I look behind me and see nothing, but follow cat upstairs and hide under the covers. Freaked me out."
LairdofWingHaven
Thank God for alarms. I hate being home alone.
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The human body is still such a mystery.
How much do we really know?
Not a lot apparently. We're learning more all the time.
And most of it is gross.
Redditor BathNo7713 wanted to discuss the ick factor of anatomy. So they asked:
"What is the most disturbing fact about the human body?"
The body freaks me out. But it's all I've got. So teach me some things.
Minutes...
"The fastest killing virus takes around 4 days to kill you. That would be Ebola. Your immune system can kill you in 15 minutes."
will477
'locked-in'
"If your brainstem (the part of the brain that mediates most motor control for all of the body) is damaged, you can get 'locked-in' syndrome. That means you're fully conscious and aware of your surroundings but unable to move or speak. The only muscles that remain unaffected in most people are the muscles that move they eyes and the eyelids."
"You're essentially trapped within your own body with your only way of communication being blinking or moving your eyes It can be caused by toxins, blockage of the basilar artery which is the main artery of the brainstem, or other brainstem damage."
4oodler
Explosions
"Some people suffer from Exploding Head Syndrome, which causes them to hear a loud bang when they wake up."
ToraMix19
"When I was younger I believe I experienced this a few times. Sounds I heard were: about a million people talking and laughing all at once, a train that irl would've been about a foot away from me based on the volume of the sound, and a door slamming loudly."
aliaisacreature
Pain
"Not sure if this is by design, but I totaled my car once, almost completely uninjured somehow. Then I looked down to my right hand which I remember jabbing into my dashboard at 55mph. Luckily (unluckily?) only my pinky took the blow. But instead of a floppy-udder full of bone-sand, my pinky was 0.5 inches long."
"Broke no bones, but instead perfectly stacked my phalanges, or finger bones, INTO my hand. This is fixed by a muscular Russian murse grabbing your pinky with both hands and pulling very hard. God I wish they gave me more lidocaine."
TelevisionOlympics
Functions
"If you have a surgery where they need to move your organs around they might not function for a day as the body assumes that they are dead."
tonythebutcher13
Move things around? You mean that's not fake when it happens on "Grey's Anatomy?"
"The only reason you are not aware of it is because the ambient noise kind of drowns it out because your ears focus on it. If you go to one of those super-silent rooms that absorb all sorts of sounds, it is a really weird way to reacquaint yourself with your body."
Black_Handkerchief
The Mouth
"Idk about the most disturbing but how bad human teeth are. We’d think it’s our sugary and processed diets these days that cause it, but even Otzi the iceman discovered in Italy was found to have terrible teeth, mouth diseases and cavities. It’s odd that even with the most basic of diets our teeth are so bad."
Dorianisconfused
In the bowels...
"I noticed this after my abdominal surgery. When I turned over in bed my guts seemed to fall from one side to the other. Mentioned to my doc and she confirmed it was my bowels rearranging themselves."
squatter_
"Apparently the doctor just throws your intestines back in there higgeldy-piggeldy because there isn't a correct way to pack them neatly."
LostDesigner9
A Quick Burst
"There are a vast number of ways that your body can malfunction and kill you with little or no warning. An aneurysm can go undetected until it bursts and kills you. Getting hit in the chest just the right way can stop your heart. You can encounter an allergen that never previously provoked an immune response that freaks out your body so badly that you die. You literally just never know if your body will just... die."
Unsolicited_Spiders
The body is such a conundrum. Sexy and gross all at once.
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