[Film] The most heartbreaking films of all time

[Nigella's Cream Pie]

I thought it was a bit of a let-down

But uplifting in the end, literally

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

I normally have a heart of stone but the opening scene of Pixar's UP! got me, I was watching during lockdown, so that may have been a contributing factor.

Lockdown might have contributed, but that opening scene is incredible.

 

[Zeberdi]

I’ll add another couple of ‘human’ heartbreakers to my earlier list (which was all about pets - for some reason I thought our lists were all about animals!) - these two because they were also heartbreakers for me personally:

• Life is Beautiful - stunning, hopeful and gut wrenching - I visited Arrezo where it was filmed about 10 years ago with a very dear Italian friend who I unfortunately since lost touch with due to a family trauma - I watched the film a few years later and remembered sadly, the red wine and gelato we had shared sitting in the late summer sun in the centro storico the last time we were together.
• Schindler’s List - which I walked out of in tears 20 minutes to the end - my Grandfather, an Auschwitz survivor, had recently died, so it was particularly poignant.

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

Mike Leigh’s Meantime hits home that most people live in a mundane existence and just “survive” one day to the next, doing nothing, achieving nothing, contributing nothing

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Was it a musical ?

I do love your attitude.

Back in the day when a bit of tit or fanny on the telly had the defenders of our morality reaching for their revolvers, I casually put the box on one evening after the watershed, to be greeted by a bloke punching a woman hard in the face then raping her. Obviously only a bit of tit and no fanny on show. But punching a woman in the face and raping her was OK? On the telly? With no expectation from me I'd stumble across this abomination via a casual flick through the channels? And why would anyone want to watch that shit?

OK, you have a teenager who thinks the world is all fruit flavoured vapes and Love Island who is toying with a walk on the cinematic wild side. Make them sit through Midnight Express. Then invite them to consider their priorities.

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

Was it a musical ?

As a result of watching an episode of the Simpsons in my youth, I only realised that A Streetcar Named Desire isn't a musical about two years ago.

 

[London Irish]

For me Silent Running, a very prescient story about the slow destruction of life on Earth.

Surprised this has not been mentioned so far ?

Take me off ignore

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

Soldier Blue, probably more upsetting than heartbreaking though.

 

[Zeberdi]

Tarka the Otter.

I reckon you're thinking of Ring of Bright Water - isn't that the heartbreaking one?!

Good point…….was a long time ago it made me cry

Very possibly you could have indeed meant Tarka the Otter - Tarka gets torn apart by a pack of hounds (reading that book as a kid was my first awareness that humans hunt animals for sport). Gut wrenching

At least in the films, you don’t see Mij being decapitated by a trench digger or Tarka being killed by fox hounds.

 

[dazzer6666]

Very possibly you could have indeed meant Tarka the Otter - Tarka gets torn apart by a pack of hounds (reading that book as a kid was my first awareness that humans hunt animals for sport). Gut wrenching

At least in the films, you don’t see Mij being decapitated by a trench digger or Tarka being killed by fox hounds.

Nope, definitely Ring of Bright Water - I can still picture the spade coming down and haven’t watched it for about 50 years

 

[Zeberdi]

Nope, definitely Ring of Bright Water - I can still picture the spade coming down and haven’t watched it for about 50 years

You didn’t say that in your original post - you just said ‘Tarka the Otter’

I only mentioned it because you were originally contradicted and was just suggesting you could have been right the first time because both were heartbreakers, not just RoBW as Kevo suggested.

I saw both - real tearjerkers.

 

[dazzer6666]

You didn’t say that in your original post!

 

[kevo]

This is getting otterly ridiculous.

 

[Nigella's Cream Pie]

This is getting otterly ridiculous.

Really? Pull the otter one!

 

[Crawley Dingo]

Bridge to Terabithia

This film is a total downer and heartbreak, including the PR which has it as a children's fantasy. If you hate kids this is the one to get them to watch.

 

[Zeberdi]

Bridge to Terabithia

This film is a total downer and heartbreak, including the PR which has it as a children's fantasy. If you hate kids this is the one to get them to watch.

Had not heard of that before so just googled the plot on Wiki - it deals with some heavy hitting issues and quite painful for anyone dealing with bullying, child abuse, grief etc.

Why on earth is it presented as a Walt Disney children’s fantasy though - the trailer is quite innocuos yet
it says in very small print on the promos, ‘Some material may not be suitable for children’ ?

 

[Crawley Dingo]

Had not heard of that before so just googled the plot on Wiki - it deals with some heavy hitting issues and quite painful for anyone dealing with bullying, child abuse, grief etc.

Why on earth is it presented as a Walt Disney children’s fantasy though - the trailer is quite innocuos yet
it says in very small print on the promos, ‘Some material may not be suitable for children’ ?

Its an absolute headfck on many levels. Worth watching for this and then think how it would impact young kids. For example there is only about 10 seconds animation right at the end.

 

[Weststander]

Nope, definitely Ring of Bright Water - I can still picture the spade coming down and haven’t watched it for about 50 years

Same timespan for me, it used to be on TV during Easter or Whitsun holidays I think, can’t bring myself to watch the film again.

 

[A1X]

Bambi

 

[The Clamp]

It’s become a bit of a cliche probably due to the poster adorning many a students grubby wall but Betty Blue.

How a free spirit descends into mental illness is heartbreaking.



The ending gets me everytime. Even if the the plot does take a few silly turns outside of the main story.