Thursday, July 14, 2011

My List of Top 10 Saddest Movies (Regardless of Origin and Genre)

I confess, I am a sucker of tear-jerker movies. Every time, I felt so down, sad movies were there to lift me up. It felt like every bit of teardrops turned into an ounce of happiness for me. I walked the world to find the saddest movies that can provide me such bizarre therapy. Interestingly, I found out that not all the greatest tear jerker movies can only be seen in the Hollywood. Asian melodramas can beat most Western movies by knock out.

Here is the list of movies that truly made me cry hard:

  1. A Moment to Remember. This is a story of a 27 year-old woman suffering from the rare form of Alzheimer's disease. Her great love for her seemingly bad boy-turned-responsible husband was put to test when the illness struck her. Happy ending was far possible for them. I can't forget about the things she did to preserve every happy moments and memories ought to be remembered between them.This Korean movie is undoubtedly hundred times sadder than the Hollywood's The Notebook.


  2. The Classic. Another great Asian contender that took me by surprise after watching the entire film.It's about an unfulfilled great love story of the parents passed to their children who happened to have almost the same story with them. At first, it was a bit dragging and the story is presented in a non-linear pattern. But the second half of the movie is really wicked. I was crying up to the very end of the movie.


  3. A Millionaire's First Love. I'm not being biased. Korean movies are really on top when it comes to sad movies or melodramas. I can't help it. This is a story of a spoiled and stubborn young millionaire who happened to fall in love with a simple, adorable, fatally ill young woman. At first, I thought this movie is small-budgeted, cheap, and therefore it could be low-quality. I was totally wrong. The story is deeply moving. A bit predictable but you will definitely cry hard. My favorite part was when the guy learned that his great love is dying, he gave her a bottle full of capsules with short messages on them. The guy instructed her not to overdose by reading more than one message in a day, but since the girl is afraid of dying very soon, she read everything and cried her heart out.


  4. Hachiko. Nobody, I guess, would ever forget Richard Gere's remarkable performance in this astonishing dog's tale. The sad tone started when Gere's character died, and the dog named Hachi who was very loyal to his master kept coming back on the train station to wait for him. He did that for the next 10 years, night and day, all four seasons, hoping that his beloved master will come back. Truly sad.


  5. Grave of the Fireflies. This truly gave great honor to the Japanese animation. It's an underrated 1988 animated movie about two young Japanese siblings who battled famine, poverty, and cruelty of their aunt after their parents have died during the World War II. Their only source of entertainment while they fought for survival is the light of the fireflies. Witnessing how they struggle to survive and live made me pulled off so many tissue papers on my tissue box.


  6. The Notebook. Of course, every book-turned-movies written by Nicholas Sparks were all my top favorites. This one though topped my list. Again, the story about great love and growing old was really captivating and unforgettable.


  7. My Name is Khan. Who would have ever thought that this is a sad movie? I never really thought. At first, I was very resistant and stubborn enough to watch this film because I thought it's too long and could be dragging. When I gave it a try, I was totally blown away. In the first half of the film, I was laughing hard to Khan's autistic antics. Then, at the latter part of the film, I can't stop my tears from falling down. The story of racial discrimination among Muslims during the time of 9/11 attack of the World Trade Center is extremely moving. How the human side of Khan changed everything is something that everyone should not miss watching.


  8. Like Stars on Earth (Every Child Is Special). When it comes to Bollywood films and Aamir Khan's crafts, 3 Idiots is really my top favorite. But this movie Like Stars on Earth has truly a heart, a very big heart. The movie centered on a child with dyslexia who struggled a lot after being neglected by her parents at home and teachers at school. With the help of Aamir Khan's character, the reason behind the child's struggle were uncovered, realizing that every child is indeed special. You'll cry without fail towards the ending.


  9. A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies. This is another underrated Japanese movie that I happen to worship. It's a story about a dog named Mari who have struggled for survival with her 3 newborn puppies during one of the strongest earthquakes that struck one particular village in Japan in 2004. How Mari became a mother to her 3 puppies during the time of uncertainties and how they were able to reunite with their masters are truly unforgettable.


  10. My Sassy Girl/Windstruck. Another great love stories from Korea. Both were top-billed by one of the Korea's finest actresses OMG! That's too painful to watch. In Windstruck, the most unforgettable part of course was when the guy promised his love that when the day comes that he die, he will be with the winds that will caress her all the time.


Honorable Mentions:

While these films may have failed to make it to my top 10, I still consider them sad, in fact sadder than sad. Here are they:

  1. The Shawshank Redemption (Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman)
  2. 3 Idiots (Aamir Khan)
  3. Atonement (James McAvoy, Keira Knightly)
  4. The Pursuit of Happiness (Will Smith)
  5. The Green Mile (Tom Hanks)
  6. Titanic (Leonardo De Caprio, Kate Winslet)
  7. Cinema Paradiso (Italians)
  8. The Kite Runner (Afghan)
  9. Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)
  10. IL Mare/ ...Ing (Koreans)
So, how do you find my list of saddest movies, did you find it? LOL. How about you? If you have a totally different list, feel free to share yours on the section for comments.

4 comments:

  1. 3/20 lng akon na.watch ni mike,hehe -xian

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for commenting Xian. I tell you, foreign language films especially Japanese, Korean, Thai and Indian are far better than Hollywood movies. That if you are seeking for melodramas and real tear-jerkers.

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  3. I love that The Notebook made it into your list of foreign flicks. I was surprised that The Stoning of Soraya M didn't make the cut. Whew, so sad.

    I think you have seen my list, but I updated it with some input from the commenters.

    http://www.entirely-random.com/2008/05/27/top-sad-movies-that-i-have-seen/

    ReplyDelete