Need a good cry? News got you down? Slack notifications blowing up your phone? Rent due again? Life is full of frustrations. From time to time, you just need a good cry; and what better way to get the job done than to put on a sentimental film and let the catharsis flow? These five movies are sure to pull at the heartstrings and tear ducts of all ages– you’ll laugh, cry, and connect with your human side, so be sure to grab a box of tissues!
Bridge To Terabithia (2007)
This 2007 adaptation of Katherine Paterson's 1977 novel of the same name is a tender story of friendship, imagination, and grief that has been bringing audiences to tears for decades. Directed by Gábor Csupó (The Secret of Moonacre) (Rugrats) and written by Katherine Paterson's son, David L. Paterson (The Great Gilly Hopkins), Bridge To Terabithia tells the story of 12-year-olds Jess (Josh Hutcherson) and Leslie (AnnaSophia Robb) as they become best friends and cope with their troubled lives by traveling via rope swing to the imaginary world of Terabithia. Together, through their imaginations, they face bullies, trolls, and ultimately, death. This flick will not leave a dry eye in the house.
Why it's great for libraries and classrooms: Libraries and classrooms could use this film as a great discussion starter for topics of grief, bullying, and adverse childhood experiences. While the subject matter of this film can get quite heavy, it is written for a child audience and is very approachable and engaging, with its fantasy sequences and lovable characters. It could also easily be paired with Katherine Paterson's novel, a frequent flyer of the ALA's 100 most frequently challenged books list for its discussions of abuse, adverse childhood experiences, and death.
Read the full Bridge To Terabithia review here
Get the Bridge To Terabithia DVD here
Dead Poets Society (1989)
This multiple award winning coming-of-age drama tells the story of a high school English class at Welton, a New England Boarding School, and their teacher, John Keating (Robin Williams). Directed by Peter Weir (The Truman Show) with an Oscar-winning screenplay by Tom Schulman (Honey, I Shrunk The Kids), Dead Poets Society takes its audience along for a year at a New England boarding school in 1959, as John Keating transforms his students' lives through the power of poetry. The boys, known amongst themselves as the Dead Poets Society, deeply connect with their passionate teacher, Keating, and take his lessons in self-expression and independent thought into their lives in and around the school. They face pushback from their authoritarian fathers and headmaster, heartbreak, and grief, but the lessons learned tie them together and give them a profound new outlook on life.
Why it's great for classrooms and libraries: Dead Poets Society is a now-classic movie that would foster excellent discussions on independence, expression, and education among young adults. Discussions could revolve around any number of aspects of the film including emotional disconnect from parents, free will, being queer and in the closet, and even heavy topics like abuse and suicide. It could be paired with discussions of poets like Walt Whitman, or a coming-of-age novel for a literary tie-in.
Read the full Dead Poets Society review here
Get the Dead Poets Society DVD here
Steel Magnolias (1989)
1989 was a great year for crying in the movie theater. Another now-classic, Herbert Ross (Footloose) directs this adaptation of Robert Harling's 1987 play of the same name, which depicts the lives of a tight-knit group of small town southern women as they live their lives and cope with the death of Shelby (Julia Roberts). Through weddings, pregnancy, births, sickness, and death, the women are there for one another, with charming Southern platitudes, food, and friendship. This beloved movie, with an absolutely stacked cast featuring Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts provides a rare focus on the stories of middle aged and older women, an oft-neglected audience in American cinema.
Why it's great for classrooms and libraries: This movie is widely beloved, and would be a great fit with any Women's Month or Mother's Day programming at your library. Paired with the lesser-known play, Steel Magnolias (1989) could spark conversations on the mother-daughter bond, loss of a child, adult friendships, and chronic illness, among other things.
Read the review of Steel Magnolias (2012) here
Buy the Steel Magnolias DVD here
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Isao Takahata's heartbreaking 1988 animated drama is set in March 1945, at the tail end of World War II as the United States bombs Kobe, Japan. Caught amongst the chaos of war are a young boy, Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi) and his little sister Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi), who have been orphaned due to the air raids. They move in with an aunt, but mounting pressure due to dwindling rations, grief, and the horrors of war drive Seita to take Setsuko to an abandoned bomb shelter, where they attempt to survive on their own. Malnutrition leads to illness, and death eventually comes for Setsuko, then Seita. The final moments of this devastating film find the siblings at peace in the afterlife, overlooking fireflies from atop a hill.
Why it's great for classrooms and libraries: This movie, based on the short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka, is a springboard for serious discussions of grief, desperation, and the effects of war. This could be a timely piece for older kids, young adults, and grown-ups alike, and could help facilitate discussions on difficult questions about the realities of war for civilians. It could be paired with books like Color of the Sea by John Hamamura or What the Scarecrow Said by Stewart David Ikeda for discussions Japanese and Japanese-American perspectives on World War II. It could also be screened with other Studio Ghibli movies like The Wind Rises.
Read the full Grave of the Fireflies review here
Buy the Grave of the Fireflies DVD here
Lionsgate
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once (2022)
This critically-acclaimed absurdist dramedy from directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert follows the Chinese-American Wang family through space and time as laundromat owner Evelyn (Michelle Yeoh) tries to fight off an IRS audit and prevent the evil Jobu Tupaki, a version of her daughter, Joy (Stephanie Hsu) from destroying the universe with an Everything bagel. Now, from this description, you may not think this movie would be a tearjerker, but through the hot dog fingers, googly-eyed rocks, and Ratatouille parodies, is a touching story about acceptance, courage, and love. Featuring queer and immigrant perspectives, discussions of mental health and the pressures of modern life, Everything, Everywhere, All At Once will make you laugh, cry, think, want to call your mom and your therapist.
Why it's great for classrooms and libraries: A recent favorite, a screening of this movie could pull in patrons for a variety of programming, including seasonal Mother's Day, Pride Month, Father's Day, or AAPI Heritage Month. It would go great with a discussion of books like Douglas Adam's The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or even more serious fare like Ocean Vuong's collection of poetry, Time Is A Mother.
Read the full Everything, Everywhere, All At Once review here
Buy the Everything, Everywhere, All At Once DVD here
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