The most depressing movies ever?

I just got done giving Legends of the Fall a re-watch. It was basically just nearly hours of perpetual sorrow. I am now on heroin to cope.

On a more serious note, what are some of the most depressing movies you've ever seen that were still well-produced, directed, and with astounding performances?

Side note: Anthony Hopkins is the very embodiment of theatrical talent. It's not easy to believably pull off the role of someone whose had a stroke. Right down to the lip curl his performance in LOTF was superb.

Come and See. A Russian film about World War II. I’d post a link to the trailer but OP would then need more drugs. It’s been called the most accurate film depiction of war.

Maybe you should read this thread instead, OP.

Grave of the Fireflies. Fifteen-years later, I’m still fucked-up from having watched it.

Also: La Pianiste/The Piano Teacher. Traumatising!

r5 That thread hasn't been replied to in over 6 months. I'm restarting the discussion instead of bumping since a lot of people find bumping old threads annoying.

Schindler’s List wins the thread.

Lol, OP. He was gorgeous in that movie. I liked Aiden Quinn, too. You're right its a tragic movie though. The whale was hard to get through ,too.

I found Brokeback Mountain quite depressing

Hours of Perpetual Sorrow

My next drag persona

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

I could only watch it once. The ending scene is traumatising. The historical background behind the film is intense, we all heard how bad the great depression was, so to see it laid in such a way where the particpants seemingly had no way out and the viewers enjoyed seeing people essentially kill themselves is definitely emblematic of this whole theme.

That being said, the most terrifying scene to me is when a particular character has to be carried by their partner. I won't spoil it, but the music, the cheering crowds, the cinematography + editing and the sheer physicality of the actors' performances are all the reason I won't watch this movie again.

When the Wind Blows. That film made the similary-themed The Testament with Jane Alexander and DL-fav Lukas Haas look like an ABC Weekend Special.

House of Sand and Fog. Great acting, but very bleak movie.

Another vote for House of Sand and Fog.

Momma Mia. Was never the same after watching it.

R31 Was it worse than Mamma Mia?

They Shoot Horses Don’t They

R26 Agreed. I saw it on TV when I was just a kid, and it really stuck with me. I remember the cruelty and inhumanity of it all.

Sauvage depressed the hell out of me.

Shame.

Despite Michael Fassbender's pendulous, flopping cock, the film was incredibly sad and stark.

Deer Hunter. I watched it once and will never watch it again. It traumatized me. Every cast member was at the top of their game.

Can't believe nobody has mentioned THE most depressing movie of all:

Boys Don't Cry

R26 They Shoot Horses...The book is just as depressing.

"Breaking The Waves," Lars Von Trier's debut buzzkill. It was a total bummer

The Sweet Hereafter.

That opening scene with the school bus is terrifying and tragic.

I cried for days after seeing The Joker in the theater

It's absurd to be scolded by datalounges self appointed hall monitors for a creating a duplicate thread of one created two years ago.

Children of Men is on my depressing list, won't watch it again.

Brasil, supposed to be an outrageous parody but our modern lives are too similar to the fantasy. Specifically the terrorist attacks and the grotesque cosmetic surgery depicted, too depressing to watch

What Dreams May Come depressed me

R5 You embarrassed yourself here.

Yet another Vote for House of Sand and Fog. As my friend recommended it to me: “man, that is a MESSED up movie. You have to see it!” And yeah, it’s pretty haunting. It sticks with you.

That’s my criteria for films like this - that and so beautiful/interesting you would love to watch again but it’s too brutal to even consider.

City of God

Requiem for a Dream. It is just painful

Enter the Void

Oh by Christ that documentary do not watch it

“Dear Zachary”

'night, Mother

I watch it several times a year.

Bambi messed me up pretty good when I was a kid. When I was very young I began watching the old Turner Classic Movies with my mother, it was something we did together. We watched Imitation of Life with Lana Turner and the ending was heartbreaking.

R59 - I never saw the movie, but when the play was revived on Broadway a number of years ago (with Edie Falco), the guy in front of me was awash in tears during the last 10 minutes.

I felt like I was at a wake.

[quote] Momma Mia. Was never the same after watching it.

I couldn’t get through more than a half hour. Maybe if I’d been drunk I’d have managed. I realised I can’t cope with musicals where everyone sings deliriously happy, upbeat songs. Im not sure I like what that says about me.

R60 yes, Bambi! I rewatched it the other year for the first time since I was 5 years old and it was just as traumatic. Beautifully animated and painted, but, man, when it’s grim it’s GRIM.

Grave of the Fireflies has shown up on so many of these kinds of lists: Most Depressing Movies, Movies I Would Never Watch Again, Movies I Can't Get Out of My Head, etc. I know I will never, ever watch this film.

The Vanishing. It all revolves around a hideous secret. Believe me, you don't want to know the answer to the secret.

Mileage varies, but these three are the most depressing films I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen quite a few, including the often-listed _They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?_, which traumatized a very young me and turned me into a Marxist for life):

1. Bergman’s _The VIrgin Spring_ (1960)

2. Aki Kaurismäki’s _The Match Factory Girl_ (1990)

3. Lars Von Trier’s _Dogville_ (2003)

Trailer for _The Virgin Spring_:

Trailer for _The Match Factory Girl_:

I fucking LOVE the Match Factory Girl. People got what they deserved. And I want that bachelor's purple sofa.

You and me both, r72. The wonders of DL—finding the only other person in the world who “fucken loves” The Match Factory Girl.

The movie Glory was the only movie that made me depressed. Other movies have made me sad, but the tragic ending of Glory was a different level.

The Opposite of Sex is by far the movie I have hated the most. I don’t mean hate as just dislike. I literally wanted to bash in the head of the Christina Ricci character. It was an intense hatred.

Requiem for a Dream, with Ellen Burstyn.

Just fucking shoot me already.

I remember Green Mile being very depressing

Most European gay romance films are quite depressing.

-Floating Skyscrapers (Poland)

.Land of Storms (Hungary)

-Free Fall (Germany)

.Mario (Switzerland)

Huge Diane Lane fan, I saw this as a 10yr old gayling & was absolutely devastated, I bawled inconsolably at the end. My dad walked out of the room, disgusted by my blubbering, & my mom walked in & asked me what was wrong. I was crying so hard I couldn’t speak. She asked me if my dad had hit me, & I still couldn’t answer. He came back in the room to defend himself, & I finally regained the power of speech & said it was the movie. I think my parents both said “Bah” & dismissed me, disgusted by my histrionics.

Martha--directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

Breaking The Waves, I watched it once and never again. Melancholia, I watched it a few times but it was up there with BTW as extremely depressing. Lars Von Trier really knows his depression.

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