Weekly Theme

Weekly Theme for September 28: The Infinite Sadness

Sorry for the delay but I've been in a Six Feet Under k-hole for the past week and haven't been doing much of else. The final episode of the series had me crying like almost never before and it got me thinking about how much I enjoy a good cry. The raw emotion, the circling thoughts of this or that that keep the tears streaming down your face, the feeling of suffocating in your throat: not too much in this life compares to it.

With that said, I'd like to spend this week talking about those films that either showcase this emotion or make the viewer experience it.

The first film that comes to my mind is Requiem for a Dream. Without ruining anything for those that have not seen it, the final few minutes of the film features the main characters curling into the fetal position and it's just such an amazing moment of sadness that I couldn't help but let the tears fall.

Another one that gets me all the time is the closing moments of Little Miss Sunshine where that awesome song comes on as the family is working together to push the van along, one by one making their way into it as it speeds up.

P. T. Anderson pretty much has some of the best moments of characters breaking down completely and losing themselves in a crying fit:

In Boogie Nights when Roller Girl and Amber Waves are trying to numb the pain of their lives by doing mounds of cocaine on a bed and end up crying in each others arms is a great one.

Magnolia has way too many to count and I know that whenever I watch it I'll shed a tear at some point.

A guilty pleasure of mine is When Harry Met Sally... and I always seen to watch it for the moment at the end of the film when I know what's going to happen and I can't help but let myself grab a kleenex or two.

And probably the best cry I've ever had in a movie is The Shawshank Redemption. Gets me crying like a baby every time I watch it.

So if you're the kind of person that never cries at movies I guess this topic isn't for you, but for all those courageous folks out that there do, what makes you cry?

Re:Weekly Theme for September 28: The Infinite Sadness

mercurial:

Sorry for the delay but I've been in a Six Feet Under k-hole for the past week and haven't been doing much of else. The final episode of the series had me crying like almost never before and it got me thinking about how much I enjoy a good cry. The raw emotion, the circling thoughts of this or that that keep the tears streaming down your face, the feeling of suffocating in your throat: not too much in this life compares to it.

A good cry is something that can be a cap on a really great movie for me as well.  I find myself crying for lots of different reasons in films though.

mercurial:

And probably the best cry I've ever had in a movie is The Shawshank Redemption. Gets me crying like a baby every time I watch it.

Dude, there's something about it.  I don't know what it is.  But even if it's ALL I see, whenever the very last couple minutes of The Shawshank Redemption start playing, the tears just start welling up.

Although the one film moment that might get the tears going even stronger and more reliably would be the final big breakdown from Lee J. Cobb's character.  I get goosebumps and almost start crying just reading a transcript of it!  I think it may be the most perfect moment in cinema for me.

I've also had tears of happiness well up in my eyes for strange kind of happy moments too.

When the new Star Wars movies came out, I would almost start crying just as the opening theme started playing and the familiar logo and text scroll started running.

Sometimes it's a perfect blend of what just seems like overpowering truth.  Humor, sadness, reality, absurdity, all perfectly portrayed.  The end of Dr. Strangelove for instance.  Tears come to my eyes here too.  Most of the film of The Seventh Seal hits me too because of the truth of every character's struggle.

Oh and I just remembered, what might be the best rival for that monologue in 12 Angry Men would be the monologue in Fargo by Margie in the cop car hauling away Gaear Grimsrud.

So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There's more to life than a little money, you know. Don'tcha know that? And here ya are, and it's a beautiful day. Well. I just don't understand it.

Ah!  That sums it up so perfectly!  You just have to shed a tear for everything it says.

Then of course there are times when I really HATE a movie for making me cry.  Because it's total manipulation.  In other words, it throws up certain images and sounds and music that we already have some emotional attachment to outside of the film and edits them together in a way that makes you cry.  But if the actual story of the film is total bullshit, then that's manipulation.  The cry doesn't flow freely from the complete work of the film.  It's just a psychological trick.  One of the biggest examples here would be I Am Sam.  People naturally have an immediate strong reaction to cute, innocent and defenseless people being taken advantage of.  Who is more stereotypically innocent and defenseless than mentally retarded people and children?  And when you throw in a vague oppresive authority system and one dementional villains, the only final blow you really need is Beatles music, the most loved pop music in the world.  The tears flow, but not because of any context of the film, because of outside contexts.  Paul Haggis pulls this same kind of crap with Million Dollar Baby and Crash.

Re:Weekly Theme for September 28: The Infinite Sadness

Well it took me a little while to chime in on this one but I would say that anytime I think of  tear jerking films I think of one director that seems to do it to me everytime. Jim Sheridan's films are almost always great for a good cry. The Field with Richard Harris has some of the most frustrating scenes of heartbreak ever. I just watched this one for the first time a few weeks ago it was the first film in a very long time that had me welling up.

In America is another one by Sheridan that's closing scene is downright impossible to watch with dry eyes.

And you can't really forget In The Name Of The Father. This flick has several teary eyed scenes. Some for sorrow and some for joy.

Re:Weekly Theme for September 28: The Infinite Sadness

leeroy711:

In America is another one by Sheridan that's closing scene is downright impossible to watch with dry eyes.

I'll agree with that, but I would tend to put it more in the category of the I Am Sam kind of movies.  Not really an honest cry.  More of a manipulated one from my memory.  It aggrivated me to a large extent.