What was the saddest moment in a movie for you?

[Oz]

Some of them have been mentioned in this thread already: Once Upon a Time in the West, Haruhi, Kurosawa films and Grave of the Fireflies. You might as well add all films by Hirokazu Koreeda and Yi yi.

From films I've seen recently, the most unforgettable is Lee Sang-il's Villain. Late in the film, the victim's father delivers a speech over a montage that pretty much summarizes the problems of the young generation. It's delivered with such raw power and honesty that I kept rewatching that one scene dozens of times. It's a shame I deleted the film already since I want to see it again. There was also one sequence in Toshiaki Toyoda's 9 Souls that was very haunting for me. After being rejected by the society many times, one of the escapees resorts to his last resort - only to be rejected yet again. The following sequence shows him kicking his bag around, paralleled with kids kicking a football around - and this song is played in the background. It's one of those grand cinematic moments that will stick with me for the rest of my life.

[DevRei17]

Very depressing 1:12, any idea what the song lyrics are?

http://www.harptabs.com/song.php?ID=11685

[bobbyfischer's ghost]

@DevRei17
Wow thanks , young maidens should indeed fall in love.

[BornIn1142]

There are only two movies that have made me cry in my life.

One of them is The Shawshank Redemption. Brooks's letter got me on two separate occasions.

The other is, um, the first Mister Bean movie. I was very young at the time, but the final scene seemed really touching to me for some reason.

[Cruel Thesis]

The scene in Cool Hand Luke where Luke gets a letter informing him of his mothers death.

[BiQ]

Lilya 4-ever. That movie... rips the heart out of your chest and feeds it back to you. Lots of RAGE also involved.

[Trajan]

Grave of the Fireflies made me cry for about twenty minutes after watching it. The climax of Saving Private Ryan and Roy's death in Blade Runner both made me tear up a bit. [/quote]

[John]

The swing scene from Ikiru:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AoKhCMSKNU

Ok, I can't stop watching this scene. I've gotta find this movie.

Reading everyone's depressive posts reminds me when I was watching a free online FPS game, but then a modder started playing and killing all of them, then someone in despair shouted "That's it! Everyone, let's commit a mass suicide!"
I hope that doesn't happen here...

Also adding Captain America ending. I loved how they changed it from the comic. Why can't they make more wonderful moments in comic adaptations?

[McDirty]

Yea I know this scene is mentioned a lot, but Watership Down always puts a tear to my eye whenever I watch this scene:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkirtbpz5h4

Besides, I think Bright Eyes is amongst the most emotional songs every composed.

[Final Messenger]

I found the battle against unit 3 in 2.22 to be sad (makes me a little sadder now after watching the series) Also Mufasa’s death in the lion king was pretty sad for me as well.

[Twin Drive Sigma Aquarion]

None, primarily due to the fact that the characters are fictional.

[BornIn1142]

None, primarily due to the fact that the characters are fictional.

Except, of course, when they're not, such as in the case of stories based on real life.

[gatotsu911]

Except, of course, when they're not, such as in the case of stories based on real life.

Then they're fictionalized.

Of course, good fiction makes us reflect on things that are real, so it's kind of a moot point to begin with.

[BornIn1142]

Then they're fictionalized.

I just don't think going "Hah hah, this is SO not real!" works when watching something like Schindler's List.

[Twin Drive Sigma Aquarion]

It works on all types of movies including that one because that is how I look at things.

[Merridian]

I just don't think going "Hah hah, this is SO not real!" works when watching something like Schindler's List.

As a medium, film is inherently manipulative. Something like Schindler's List is especially manipulative because it's based on fact. Instead of making a documentary on Oscar Schindler, the film instead casts actors, dramatizes events, forces perspective, and plays with editing in order for you to empathize with what's going on on screen.

Not that documentaries aren't manipulative either, but that's a different issue.

[BornIn1142]

I don't see how film is particularly more manipulative or deceitful than any form of fiction. It doesn't matter whether you're being taken in by camera angles or rhetorical strategies.

[Merridian]

^I didn't say it was. I defended the point that it's not unlikely for someone to be emotionally unaffected by a movie, be it Schindler's List or something else, based solely on the fact that these movies are representations removed from reality. There isn't much of a difference between empathizing with Oscar Schindler as a fictionalized character and empathizing with Colonel Quaritch on the same grounds.

[TehDonutKing]

It works on all types of movies including that one because that is how I look at things.

Then why do you watch movies?

[Omegagouki]

Then why do you watch movies?

Because Twin Drive's a moron. Haven't you been paying attention? :P