Life can often feel overwhelming, and we all experience days, weeks, or even months when we’re just too exhausted to cry. Sometimes, all you need is a movie to get the waterworks going. If you’re in need of a good cry, here are five movies guaranteed to keep your tears flowing for hours.
Dead Poets Society (1989)
Starring Robin Williams, Dead Poets Society follows Jon Keating, an English teacher at Welton Academy who inspires his students through poetry to pursue careers they truly love rather than settling for one that merely keeps them alive.
Though Keating encourages his students to discover who they are and who they want to be, they find their dreams stifled by societal expectations when being asked to sacrifice their passions in the name of conventional ideas of a successful life.
At the end of the movie, Keating’s students stand on their desks, proclaiming “Oh Captain, My Captain,” as he leaves the school for the last time. This display of his students seeing him as a role model who guided them to discover their true selves always brings me to tears.
The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
Based on the novel by John Green, The Fault in Our Stars revolves around Hazel Green Lancaster, a teenager living with thyroid cancer which has spread to her lungs, and the unforgettable love story between her and Augustus Waters.
The star-crossed lovers first meet at a support group for those in remission and connect immediately. The movie takes and unexpected turn when one of the character’s illnesses comes back in full force.
The movie explores the idea that while our relationships with others may be limited, they can still hold immense significance and impact our lives. While leaving a legacy behind may be important to some, we aren’t in the privileged position to know it, and that’s okay.
Although I typically say the book is always better, this immaculate movie adaptation never fails to break my heart each time and is one of my go-to choices when I need a good cry.
The Notebook (2004)
Complete with unreturned letters, and a plethora of heartbreaks and betrayals, The Notebook captures the classic forbidden love trope. Adapted from the 1996 romance novel by Nicholas Sparks, the movie opens in a contemporary nursing home, where an elderly Noah reads a romantic story from a notebook to another patient, later revealed to be Allie.
As Allie battles dementia, Noah believes their love story will trigger her memories of their shared life, despite doctors deeming it impossible.
The Notebook instills in us the belief that love has the capacity to surpass the seemingly impossible and that it can be worth sacrificing comfort for. Allie and Noah’s unwavering love for each other endured heartbreaks, betrayals, and illnesses, persisting until their final moments together, illustrating the strength of their commitment.
Five Feet Apart (2019)
Five Feet Apart follows two teenagers, Stella Grant and Will Newman, with cystic fibrosis, who fall in love but must always remain six feet apart from each other to avoid cross-infection.
The true test of love lies in their struggle and the inability to physically be close to each other. Despite the risks involved, they close the six-foot gap between them when they realize they’re in love.
As someone whose love language is physical touch, being separated from someone I deeply care about is torture. This movie intensifies that pain with the reminderwe may not always be lucky enough to be close to our loved ones.
You never realize how far five feet is until you’re forbidden from being close to the person you love.
La La Land (2016)
La La Land is an American musical romance film starring Ryan Gosling as Sebastian, an aspiring jazz pianist, and Emma Stone as Mia, an aspiring actress. With one of the best soundtracks to accompany the most tragic love story of all time, the film is guaranteed to leave you in tears.
The final moment of the film depicts an imagination of what their lives would have looked like together had Sebastian and Mia not let their dreams come between them.
Underneath the stars of Kingston, many of us have wondered about the alternative realities we might have lived. La La Land perfectly captures this sentiment, bringing us to tears as we witness two perfectly matched souls who don’t end up together.
The ending is guaranteed to either leave you shattered in tears or angry, and I’m here for both.
Tags
Crying, Movies, Recommendations
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