Top 5 Movies that Make me Cry

So I should know better than to create this list. I caught the end of one of these movies today, and in those 5 minutes I got that lump in my throat. So in my commitment to creating top 5 lists, here we are.

Before I jump into it, I am a crier at movies. I mean I teared up during the first few minutes of Star Trek. I have learned how to hold the tears in, in most cases, but these five typically bring them out.

So in no particular order.

1. Island of the Blue Dolphins.

This makes the list as it is the first movie I remember crying during. I watched it in 2nd grade. This movie is chalk full of sad moments. Kids get left behind, brother dies, dog dies. All tear jerking moments. I often project myself into the movies that I am watching. Being a kid, watching a movie with kids, made it easy to put myself into their shoes. Which makes it all the more emotional. Even sadder note, this is based on a true story, the main character lives alone for 18 years, finally gets rescued and then dies 7 weeks later of dysentery.

2. Empire of the Sun.

One of my favorite movies. I also remember watching this movie as a young kid. Again I was able to relate to Christian Bale's character. I was able to think about how i would feel if I was in similar situations. Now that I have a son of my own, when I watch the movie I relate with how the parents must feel, not knowing where their son is, or if he is still alive. This movie contains many tear jerker moments. We start off with Jim, getting separated from his parents on a crowded street, this is both a child's and a parent's nightmare. Then there is a scene where Jim tries to remember what his parents look like, and he can't remember. I hope to never have that moment. The other moments that stick out are the scene where Jim and the Japanese boy are together, and the Japanese boy is going to cut open a melon with a sword. A character that Jim had clung to mistook this for the Japanese boy attacking Jim, and shoots him. Then the scene at the end of the movie, where Jim's parents are at the orphanage and Jim and his mother find each other. A happy moment, but I cry like a school girl.




3. Grave of the Fireflies

If it wasn't for a movie class I took in college, I most likely would never have come across this movie. The story is about two children, a brother and a sister in Japan during WWII. Their father is in the Japanese Navy. During a fire bombing of their city their home is destroyed and their mother dies. The movie chronicles the two of them trying to survive on their own. This movie will rip your heart out over and over again. It is a cartoon, which allows for some haunting imagery. Eventually the two of them end up living in a cave. Their is a scene with the sister is so hungry and delirious that she makes food out of sand. It's a movie that shows how war impacts everyone involved, not just the soldiers but families at home as well. This is a hard movie to watch, but it is one I highly recommend.

4. Field of Dreams

This movie is on the list for one scene, when he asks his dad if he can have a catch. For Christs sake, I am tearing up just writing this. It get's me every time.




5. AI: Artificial Intelligence

So this movie is the reason for this list. I haven't found many people that like this movie like I do. To me it is a great story, it came from the minds of two filmmakers I enjoy, with Kubrick spending many years working on the film and Spielberg directing it. This film again has many moments that make me well up, from when David is being taken to be decommissioned and his "mother" can't go through with it so she leaves him in the woods, the scene where Teddy and David get separated, and the final sequence, where David get's to spend one last day with his mother. It's this perfect blend of happiness and overwhelming sadness.

So there you are. Five movies you can use to mock me mercilessly for ever.

Honorable Mention
The Notebook
Armageddon
Where the Red Fern Grows
Gladiator
Braveheart