Most Depressing movies you've seen?

[Miss Golightly]

Sophie's Choice. I only watched it until the scene where she has to decide which child to give up to die and I was done. That scene still gives me nightmares.

Yes - that scene was horrific - imagine being faced with having to make that kind of a decision? I shudder even thinking about it....

Threads - was really depressing as was When the Wind Blows - both dealing with the aftermath of nuclear war.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Although I love The Notebook, I can only watch it once every few years. Depressing at the end.

Nick Sparks lives down the Trent River from me. He's a generous, civic minded guy and is very active in our little community. And he sure writes a lot of books, doesn't he? Truthfully, though, I'm not sure that he's ever topped The Notebook...which was his first.

Here's the house that Sparks used as a model for the one in The Notebook. Its actually a private residence in Pollocksville, a small town about ten miles from New Bern. But The Notebook is set in New Bern, and Sparks, using a bit of artistic license, put the house overlooking Brices Creek, instead of overlooking the Trent.

AF

 

[Undertow]

Atonement. Good grief. I was depresessed for days...

Oh god, for sure! That movie was just wrenching.

Heavy Metal

You know, I loved this movie but I can totally see why it would be depressing.

Love Liza (2002) - Billed as a "comic tragedy", it's actually just depressing as all get out. You watch how a wife's suicide absolutely ruins her husband; I mean ruins him. He goes in a "tailspin" (forgive the pun) until he crashes and "burns" in the ground (again, the puns). Seriously, it's not funny, it's just very, very sad.

The Road (2009) - I have yet to read the novel, but the film is just so horribly bleak that it's difficult to get through without crying. The pathetic struggling is just so bitterly palpable...

Brodre (Brothers) (2004) - This Danish film was eventually remade for American audiences in 2009 and sucked. The original was so powerful, so sincere and just so ultimately depressing. I remember after leaving the theater, I got in the car and drove somewhere private so I could cry it out. Haha, I'm such a wuss. Seriously, the film was just powerful.

44 Inch Chest (2009) - While I can understand why it wasn't a very popular film, I think the writers did an outstanding job showing the listless inner turmoil a man faces when his wife is unfaithful. And the part where the tied up waiter puts his hands on Winstone's head...man, that was probably the part that made me think to put it in this lineup. Very tender and sad.

In the Name of the Father (1993) - Retelling of the Guildford Four. Just painfully sad. Horrible. I think this really skyrocketed Daniel Day Lewis' career as well.

The Lives of Others (2006) - the Stasi monitors an East German couple. Again, there aren't really words for this kind of painful, depressing film.

Gummo (1997) - Same guy that did Kids did this pseudo-documentary. I think this one is just overall depressing. It's America at it's worst and yet that's unfair because you can see that poverty plays a huge role in these peoples' lives.

I have a whole bunch more, but I'll stop there!

 

[ThesFlishThngs]

I try to forget depressing movies, if I can't avoid seeing them altogether, but this thread has jogged my memory a bit.

"Mad Max", "When the Wind Blows" (my husband has the dvd and likes loaning it out to people, insisting it's just a charming animation), "Where the Red Fern Grows" (saw it as a child at the drive in, and still remember how depressed it made me), "Broken Blossoms" (a beautiful film, but so so grim and sad-making).
I would add "Atonement" to the list, but I read the book first, which was much more powerful and poignant than the movie, so I already knew what to expect. The book, however, reached in a pulled a little piece of my heart out.

 

[Undertow]

Yeah, Mad Max was depressing. I'd forgotten about that one. In fact, the entire series was always a little depressing because it was kinda bleak.

 

[Widebrim]

I'm not sure it's depressing, but it certainly depicts the Australian experience of WW1. I think Gallipoli is Peter Weir's best movie.

Lee, I'm not sure if you're aware of Ataturk's quote about the Australians and New Zealanders that fought at Gallipoli, it's incredibly moving.

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives....You are now living in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours…You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace, after having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well."

Lisa, for me the ending was depressing, watching the Johnnies leaving behind love notes and wedding rings as they prepared to go over the top to almost guaranteed death. No, I had never seen that quote before, and it is quite moving. Ataturk was an incredible man, and expressed the kind of sentiments that a person often feels when the war is over, and enemies return to their position as fellow men.

 

[Feraud]

The French film Irreversible was depressing. It starts off disorienting, the storyline runs backwards, and ends on a very down note.
I haven't seen the film in years and have not one bit of interest in re-visiting it.

 

[scottyrocks]

There was a version of Animal Farm made maybe 15 or so years ago, featuring some questionble animatronics, that was depressing simply due to the story. It's not a happy ending with assorted amounts of suffering throughout.

 

[jamespowers]

There was a version of Animal Farm made maybe 15 or so years ago, featuring some questionble animatronics, that was depressing simply due to the story. It's not a happy ending with assorted amounts of suffering throughout.

This one:
[video=youtube_share;1jP3d1JUrtg]http://youtu.be/1jP3d1JUrtg[/video]

 

[scottyrocks]

I can't see pictures at work so I guess I shoulda posted this with my original comment (post 48). I can't tell if its the same thing you posted:

 

[jamespowers]

I can't see pictures at work so I guess I shoulda posted this with my original comment (post 48). I can't tell if its the same thing you posted:

Now I can't see yours. If it was made in 1999 it is the same movie.

 

[fortworthgal]

A Simple Plan.

Some others that have already been noted - Atonement, Cold Mountain.

Also, re: The Notebook. I didn't find it depressing, just cheesy as heck. I still can't believe that movie got good reviews.

 

[Chaps]

Steel Magnolias. Forced to see it with my wife when it came out. What a downer that turned out to be.

 

[MisterCairo]

"Alexandra's Project", an Australian film I saw as part of an international film series at the Ottawa Film Society. I really can't describe it here. And "Breaking the Waves" from the UK, same series. IMDB them, if you dare.

Edited - I'd originally written "Crashing Waves"

 

[Mario]

When the Wind Blows - both dealing with the aftermath of nuclear war.

I remember seeing that with our school class. Good thing I was already 17 when the film came out.

 

[Mario]

In the Name of the Father (1993) - Retelling of the Guildford Four. Just painfully sad. Horrible. I think this really skyrocketed Daniel Day Lewis' career as well.

Yes, that's a great film. But it didn't really make me depressive. My reaction was that it made me sad (which is definitely not the same as depressive and I know what I'm talking about) and very, very angry. Daniel Day Lewis was really good in this one. I also liked Pete Postlethwaite's performance a lot (but then the man was one of my favorite actors anyway).

 

[Doc Smith]

Fail Safe. Essentially, Dr. Strangelove--but with absolutely no sense of humor. The last ten seconds of the movie are absolutely terrifying, but only by implication; it's wonderfully self-censoring that way. Anyone who's old enough to be horrified would be old enough to be ready for it.

 

[scottyrocks]

Steel Magnolias. Forced to see it with my wife when it came out. What a downer that turned out to be.

Especially the insulin reaction seen. I have diabetes. That scene haunted me for a long time. It still makes me uneasy to think about it.

 

[jamespowers]

 

[DNO]

Like Blade Runner, Soylent Green gives such a bleak view of the future. It's always amazed me how few people I meet have seen Soylent Green. I used to use Charlton Heston's line at work..."Soylent Green is ------!" (Don't want to spoil the film.) Got more blank looks than I can remember. Anyway, Edward G Robinson was great in that film.