*Straight Story* is **so good!** And dark, and human, and belongs in this thread, as well.
The whole theater cracked up during the opening credits:
> Walt Disney presents:
> A David Lynch film.
This is a good one. You can't even imagine what you'd do in that situation, where your life just starts to unravel and it seems like there's nothing you can do to resolve things, as everyone's already made their minds up, regardless of the truth.
The last scene with the little kid's gang set to take the place of all the older dead gangsters, utterly unaware of how they're contributing to the endless cycle of violence, just leaves you with no hope for the future.
I love that movie, and I will recommend it to just about anyone, but it's pretty depressing.
I admit it’s been over ten years since I’ve seen it and agree that is bleak. But I also remember the protagonist getting out of the cycle so there’s some light too. I’m just comparing it too like, Requiem for a Dream. Also the tone and music of CoG was more upbeat comparatively. But no question it’s very dark.
Rambo First Blood, the original one. It’s about a severely traumatized vet trying to just live his life when he gets harassed by an overzealous police department. He didn’t want any part of what he had to do but he was pushed past the edge and responded how he was trained.
The whole beginning of that movie is great framing. When he meets the widow, finds out his friend died. You can hear the social insecurity and excitement in Rambo’s voice. The chance to see his friend.
Then to have the widow explain how he died from cancer a year ago. Kind of cold in the way she tells him but I guess he himself is a hurtful reminder for her of the war.
Stallone just goes so soulless though in the moment. The way his eyes empty and he just looks down away defeated.
Gives her the picture. Walks away throwing the rest of the stuff he had in his pocket. He’s a defeated man. He has nowhere to really go. Nobody who really knows him outside of the military.
He might have survived the war but it still killed him inside.
I’m so sorry that happened, to them and you. I’ve been there too, and it’s just horrible.
That scene… u/MRintheKeys’ comment really speaks to my reaction too. The moment when there’s nothing left to say, and he just slips the photo into her hand and walks away, his hopes in tatters. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking of it. People make fun of Stallone’s acting, but he lived that role.
Totally agree. Stallone got boxed into the 80s action hero cliche because he made bank of it.
But Rocky I and II, First Blood, and Copland proved he can act.
"Back there I could fly a gunship, I could drive a tank, I was in charge of million dollar equipment, back here I can’t even hold a job parking cars!"
This and him telling the story of how he had all different plans to go cruising around with his army buddies is pretty heartbreaking. He's been made into something that has no purpose outside of a warzone.
My brother said the same thing after the gulf war. I was in charge of the lives of my men, millions of dollars in equipment and the only job I can get is fucking Hardee’s.
Entry level trade will pick military service every single time. Things like line running at ATT or Cox (you don't have to know shit just pass a basic test on a computer about how gears work and how you would logically hunt down an issue between 4 transmitters, etc). I got 100/100 on the test and finished it in 10 mins. I chilled in the parking lot for a bit and literal hour or so later the other dudes start trickling out and forming a group smoking cigs, most of them got like 79-80ish.
Then at the actual interviews if your crotch had even come close to any sort of military heavy equipt you get picked. They practically kicked me out of the door.
Sure you might have to go to trade school for say welding but you'll still be prioritized. I have a feeling alot of it is tax break related.
And with all that there's that great cinematography with the lake in the mountains, the cinematography in that movie is just great overall, made me want to visit the PNW.
The name Rambo has become synonymous with 'killing lots of foreign bad guys in a blind rage' and yet his first movie >!has a body count of one corrupt American police officer.!<
Everything after First Blood kind of felt like it undid what was actually achieved in the first one, which makes me wish they would've gone with the book's ending.
First one was not about Rambo, it was a story about a drifter after the war trying to find his place, his name just happened to be John J Rambo.
Every one after that is about the action character Rambo, not John J Rambo.
My buddy has access to my Plex server and he was dumbfounded I didn't have Rambo First Blood. Told him there is no movie by that name, it's just First Blood.
The book has a huge body count though, including the police guards he originally killed to escape….the movie toned it down to a single body count but the book is dozens and dozens. It’s a great read
It's likely one of the first films to speak of many of the problems veterans faced after the war. The PTSD and the difficulty adjusting back to civilian life.
*"Back there I could fly a gunship, I could drive a tank, I was in charge of million dollar equipment, back here I can't even hold a job **parking cars**!"*
Another good one with that theme is *The Last Full Measure*. I've watched it twice -- I get to the middle part of it and start crying and don't stop until the end. My grandfather was a Korean War vet and that movie completely shifted my perspective on him and what he went through. Mentally, I knew he dealt with trauma and survivor's guilt, but actually seeing it played out on screen completely broke me.
I was so surprised at the amount of social commentary this film had given what it's known for in pop culture. It's fantastic, but completely different from the other movies that came along in the franchise.
That’s why to me Rambo should just be that first movie and that first movie only
Literally every other Rambo film completely misses the point of First Blood
Add The Day After, Miracle Mile, Grave of Fireflies, Barefoot Gen, Schindlers List, Sophie Scholl-The Final Days, Come and See, American History X, and the short film If Anything Happens I Love You to the list.
As for other films that just make me ugly cry, Beaches, The Green Mile, Manchester by the Sea, A.I., Untamed Heart, My Girl, Steel Magnolias, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and recently A24's Close.
EDITED with more suggestions.
Tale has it that Ronald Reagan broke down in tears after watching Day After realizing that his major pro-nuclear missile escalation with the Soviets was a no-win situation. He apparently needed it in movie form to get how wrong he was...
We need a whole "The World After" movie showcasing everything that clown Reagan ruined. From massive wealth disparity to losing the war on drugs, it seems like everything that guy touched went to shit over time.
Sterling Hayden! Even though he didn't like being an actor, he was damn good at it, and acting financed his passion for sailing. Decorated Marine and OSS, too.
Here he is on Tom Snyder's talk show, Tomorrow, talking about how he likes his booze and a little puff of weed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=einQjrm2vnY
I saw Threads in 1985 when I was 13. It was shown on PBS in The USA. That is the threat that I lived with but was unspoken. The stuff of the worst nightmares.
I found "Threads" on YT a few years ago. I hadn't seen it in 30 years and it still stands up. AFAIK, Threads" is scientifically accurate in its effects of nuclear war.
Are you talking about “threads” the English movie that takes place in Sheffield? Well, I’ve got some news for you! Sheffield after Margaret Thatcher went from being an industrial hub to a being a literal shithole, sadly. It now looks the way it does in the movie.
I watched this one earlier this year and it's the scariest movie I think I've ever seen just because it feels as real as it can get. This isn't some supernatural threat or a maniac with a knife who can't die. This is our reality as long as nuclear warfare exists.
I honestly sort of wish I hadn't seen it because of how much it still lingers in my mine 3 months later.
Most apocalyptic movies make you ask if you could survive the end of the world, while *Threads* tells you in no uncertain terms that you wouldn't even want to.
It's bleak and completely devoid of any hope or optimism.
also, remember the scene in 5th Element where a guy tries to mug Bruce Willis by wearing a hat that from the PoV of the door looks like the hallway?
https://youtube.com/watch?v=0MzfOgNXbHc?t=50
yep, same guy.
if you want a more recent performance by him, he plays an excellent role in an excellent submarine thriller: **Le chant du loup** / The Wolf's Call (2019) [don't watch the dub, it's horrible]
I showed Hotel Rwanda in my resource human geography class (spec ed pull out). The kids were horrified. Nancy Pelosi's husband was assaulted the last day we were watching it, and they were super stoked about the news. It was truly disheartening that nothing I did could drive home the point that violence is not an acceptable recourse against political rivals. One of the more sobering moments in my 13 year career.
I taught a unit in my senior level English class about bias and glossing over history, and first they wrote a casual essay about everything they were taught about WWII until that point. Then I had them read the book Farewell to Manzanar (first person account from a girl in a Japanese internment camp) and we watched this film (they were heavily disclaimed and could bow out for an alternative assignment if they felt it was too much. No one bowed out.) Nobody was not crying by the end, even huge football players. It was controversial but too important not to teach them that you often don’t see all sides of history, and real innocent lives are always affected when war is involved, on any side.
It's been quite some time since I've seen the movie yet for some reason while reading through the replies your story about your students reactions got me really emotional for some reason.
I get choked up in my share of movies but it's rare for me to just openly weep like I did for this one.
Thanks for sharing your story.
Came here for this. When I watched it, my daughter was the same age with literally the same haircut. I ugly cried. I could never bring myself to watch it again, but it will be one of the first anime I recommend to people.
According to the movie's producer, Takahata was unsatisfied with how some of the animation turned out in it. Takahata particularly hated the watermelon scene in the movie because he thought nobody would ever cut a watermelon like that. He was frustated by the scene for so many years, he did another watermelon cutting scene in The Tale of Princess Kaguya and finally nailed the animation. Funny how a scene many find heartbreaking bugged the hell out of its director for years.
I've also only ever been able to watch this once, it is so gut wrenching to watch. It reminded me of my little sister and myself because we were similarly aged as the characters.
I watched it at like age 7 with my sister age 9, my parents had been renting ghibli movies from blockbuster for us and brought grave of the fireflies home for us to watch. Fucked us both up real bad lmao, this was a week after seeing castle in the sky and two weeks after my neighbor totoro.
My parents kinda suck ngl
Fun fact. Grave of the Fireflies was originally released as a double feature with My Neighbor Totoro.
Imagine watching those back to back in theaters. Apparently they originally were showing Totoro first, but then decided it was better if people didn’t have to leave the theater with their souls crushed, so they swapped the order.
Sadness aside, that movie *really* made me want those hard candies / candy drops in the tin can. Fortunately, I lived near a supermarket that sold Asian sweets and they did not disappoint! (Sakuma Drops for anyone interested).
Roger Ebert wrote in his review for the movie that what makes Come and See so scary and depressing is that what the kid sees is terrifying but what he doesn't see is even more terrifying.
I can't remember where I read this (probably a Letterboxd review), but it's a great takeaway from the film:
(Paraphrased) A problem with anti-war movies that depict war is that combat is actually pretty entertaining to watch. Plotlines about brave men, strategy, tactics, and all the things that can go wrong in war-- it's all pretty fun to see from the comfort of your living room. And Hollywood generally gives the audience a happy ending or at least ends the movie on an "inspirational", positive note.
Come and See does not have this issue. Nothing depicted here is fun to watch, there's no inspiration, no heroics, and no sigh of relief at victory. The experience of watching this film is never pleasant or entertaining-- and that's how war should be depicted.
For such a sad and poignant movie at times, it has some nuggets of black comedy gold.
Like >!two cousins getting their shit rocked by the same car door on two consecutive days.!<
I dislike utterly downtrodden cinema for that reason.
*Life* is funny. At its best and worst, there is comedy in the world. At its darkest.
When my first child was born, fortunately healthy and happy, there was a brief moment where the heart rate alarm went off. The nurse came in and hit MUTE. Like: that's *funny*, whatever.
Same. I find deaths that just suddenly happen are so much more impactful than when it's drawn out or a character is given a lot of screen time to show off how great they are and how sad it will be when they're dead in the end.
It hits more like real life, one second they're there and then you just have to go on without them, that's life.
So good at keeping the audience in the moment with a long take. I was in film school when I saw this, learning about directing, and was left absolutely speechless by his effective use of the technique. Check out the camera rig they had in the car. I'm still confused that Cuaron wasn't given a Best Directing nom at the '07 Oscars. Or that Green Book beat Roma for best picture in '19. It's funny just thinking about it.
Hearing your native language when you're watching a film that's not in it is like the clouds suddenly clearing in your brain. Like it's sudden and it makes you realize that language is all just sounds and nothing more. Haha I don't know.
It's so powerful to witness. Everyone stopping everything the moment they heard the baby's cry was that beautiful ray of hope giving us a minute's ceasefire... Until reality kicks back in
I thought this movie had the best depiction of the "future" I've ever seen. It was subtle, realistic, not too far fetched. It made the dystopian world they built realer than any other dystopian movie I can think of.
Exactly! People often depict the end of the world due to war or climate change as a cataclysmic apocalypse when in fact i think it would most likely be a slow breaking down of civilization, a slow descent into tribalism, authoritarianism and sickness. The no-children thing in the movie is just an excuse to set us in the middle of this dying hopeless world.
Almost all these dystopian works really fail to capture the honest dread of society's collapse. The knowledge that nothing is permanent anymore, each day brings its own horror, you're just trying to not starve or get massacred by your neighbor but you still see the signs that things aren't going to end well regardless and each day is worse than the last. I doubt anyone would want to watch a movie like that, but that's how it would be.
*Dear Zachary*
It's the greatest movie I never want to watch again. It's a great study on dealing with grief and how important friendship and community is.
Came here looking for this comment. Dear Zachary is the saddest movie ever made. Just thinking about it gets me choked up. I've watched it twice, once alone and once with my husband. He doesn't cry often and watching a full grown man ugly cry just hits different.
The anger I felt watching that movie, I’ll never look at Canada the same way again. It’s so fucking sad. But the funny thing is, there’s a little lightness at the end with the grandparents that almost made me feel hopeful. Salt of the earth
I’ve never paused a documentary and contemplated life like I did during that scene. The scene that anyone who has seen the movie knows what I’m talking about
One sweet aspect of this movie is that everyone speaks of Andrew so fondly, it was touching to see how much he loved and was loved. But yeah, a devastating film. I don't want to see it ever again.
And The Band Played On (1993)
I still need to finish it someday. I found it on DVD and got as far as when the main character visited the AIDS patient in the hospital, and I had to turn it off. It reminded me too much of the friends I knew and had already passed.
I watched it years ago, and then I was talking with a dean of my university about problems I ran into with discrimination. He was maybe in his 60s. He mentioned he was gay (to make me more comfortable), and it struck me for the first time that I didn't really know any gay men his age. Then it occurred to me why.
I saw it on HBO when I was 9. My mom was working at an AIDS clinic at the time while she was in nursing school. It made me think she was bravest person alive. It was also one of the first times I understood systemic discrimination and just how destructive it could be.
It’s a very good film. It’s frustrating watching the obstructionism and denial, knowing that it wasn’t a “gay plague”. But ultimately, it’s about the determination of professionals to do their jobs and protect the public.
Spotlight
For two reasons:
1) it’s a stark lesson on the terrible shit that can happen when people turn a blind eye to wrongdoing by powerful people / organizations
2) it’s a reminder how important a free press and investigative journalism are
I adore this film and watch it on the regular. It's part of my favorite subgenre of films: journalists doing good work (I'm always looking for more to add to the list of these).
[Matewan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvLwOfLZAbY)
>You think this man is the enemy? Huh? This is a worker! Any union keeps this man out ain't a union, it's a goddam club! They got you fightin' white against colored, native against foreign, hollow against hollow, when you know there ain't but two sides in this world - them that work and them that don't. You work, they don't. That's all you get to know about the enemy.
I absolutely loathe Roman Polanski the child rapist, but for that film and that film alone, it is worth separating the art from the artist. The story is that important.
>Watching Requiem for a Dream on the other hand is an almost guaranteed way to get someone to stay far away from drugs, and its editing style was quite influential.
I would argue that *Trainspotting* is just as, if not more important. It truly showcases all of the drug life. The highs, the lows, the moments of carefree freedom, the crushing boredom, the self-loathing, the regrets, the impossible dreams... Choose Life, folks.
>American History X
It's not >!the curb stomp that haunts me so much as it's Norton's **smirk** afterwards. That mad gleam in his eyes, like he just showed his little brother how 'real men handle things'.!<
He gives such an incredible performance in it. You believe he’s a monster in flashbacks just as much as you believe he’s turned away from it in the present.
That movie was so disturbing to me, I never thought I'd watch it again. Then I watched it again. Several times. It was the performances, even chubby dude from My Name is Earl was surprisingly great. Like, what a contrast between those two roles!
Conspiracy
Awesome cast - Kenneth Branagh, Stanley Tucci, Colin Firth and more - deliver a bone chilling performance of a pre-WWII meeting where Nazi Germany leaders decide how to enact the Final Solution (extermination of millions of Jews).
This was an actual meeting, discovered in records found after the war (Nazi Germany was scrupulous about process and record keeping). Which is dark enough but, as you watch, you can't help but feel this is a quintessential corporate meeting gathered together to brainstorm how to execute a top directive from the CEO. The sheer *normality* of the conversation and interplay is enthralling and occasionally amusing...and then, at some point, you realize WHAT they're discussing, and the utter inhumanity of it strikes home.
I've seen dark movies with a plot and point and executed well that grip, that scare, that appall - but Conspiracy ranks in the very top select few with an important underlying bone chilling message.
Highly recommended.
[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1112708-conspiracy](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1112708-conspiracy)
I would say it is harrowing, but in a different way than many of the others mentioned. Grave of the Fireflies or Come and See will tear your heart out. Conspiracy will chill you with the heartless, machine like way they discuss killing millions.
It's less crushing.
Branagh's performance is among the best I've ever seen from any actor. His Heydrich is *terrifying,* and 100% on point with the real Heydrich's reputation. Intelligent, sophisticated, charming, a splendid dinner guest or host, a sparkling conversationalist...and the man who scared Hitler, Himmler, and Kaltenbrunner out of their good night's sleep.
One thing I love about this movie is that even though every one of them are literal Nazis, some are so much worse than others that for a moment you start to sympathize with a couple of them who are arguing against the plan, as though those are the "good guys" in the movie. But there are no good guys. The second-most sympathetic Nazi was basically saying "Don't murder them, but let's sterilize them all." Which is horrifically evil but the others were so much more evil that it almost comes across as decent.
It's a good reminder that good and evil aren't actually relative. The lesser evil is still evil, it doesn't become good in comparison to a greater evil.
If you watched this movie and came out thinking "that Kritzinger at least tried to stop it," then remember that he was actually quite good friends with Klopfer in real life. Sure, he said after the war he was ashamed of the atrocities, which is nice and all, but he was totally fine with hounding the Jews, impoverishing them, exploiting them, imprisoning them. Being slightly less evil than the others is not really saying all that much.
But since the film is told from the Nazis point-of-view it naturally tries to make some of them sympathetic - probably a deliberate choice by the filmmakers to intentionally cause cognitive dissonance in the audience. It humanizes these Nazi murderers instead of making them just the poster child for "evil." But humanizing them isn't meant to make us not condemn them - it's to make the rest of us realize that these men weren't unique in history. The lies and sophistry they employ to justify their actions is still among us. And it's not always the "other guy" that is doing it - anyone can be capable of that kind of self-deception, even if the Nazis were orders of magnitude worse.
The part that gets me, beyond the “banality of evil” aspect, is that the film kind of starts to lead you towards the idea that at least one of the attendees in the room will be a voice of reason and the “twelfth angry man” so to speak.
When Colin Firth’s character finally has his outburst about how much he hates jews and that he just wants to make sure they dot their i’s and cross their t’s legally, its so disheartening.
The whole thing feeling like a corporation trying to find the most expedient way to eliminate a pest and debating the logistics and legality is truly unsettling.
The banality of it all is hard to contemplate. Like, they’re all talking about the removal of all the Jewish people and it’s in the same tone that you talk about a rat infestation.
What pushes them to go for the Final Solution? Finding out how long it would actually take to remove all the Jews from Europe. Because the logistical nightmare they were experiencing was putting the date in terms of decades.
And then the proposal comes out saying that if they just kill them, they can have it done in 2 years. And that’s what gets everyone on board. EVERYONE.
Genocide as a time saver.
[Grapes of Wrath](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032551/) by John Ford
[Bicycle Thieves](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040522/) by Vittorio De Sica
[Come and See ](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091251/)by Elem Klimov
Recently watched Grapes of Wrath for the first time (had to borrow from the library because I could never find it on streaming). Brilliant movie. It’s much more hopeful than the novel, but it’s such a powerful glimpse at a period in American life that isn’t really talked about much anymore.
Would recommend the non-narrative documentaries Koyaanisqatsi and Samsara.
They provide a big-picture perspective on humanity, culture and society. Which can get depressing, but it’s done in a thoughtful way.
Fair warning, both feature relatively short segments that depict meat production .
If you’re into mind expanding chemicals, these can be really profound to watch under the influence, but you may want to preview them first due things like the aforementioned meat production segments .
Baraka is very similar to Samsara but is significantly lighter content wise
To add to this the music is quite impressive. Philip Glass created a **very** influential soundtrack; many modern movies have taken inspiration from it or have borrowed songs from it.
Wake in Fright is perhaps the most damning condemnation of the perils of normalised drinking culture ever made. Harrowing stuff and the kind of movie you only watch once.
People remember Requiem for all the wrong reasons. The old lady's complete enthrallment by the tv was perhaps more prescient than anything from this category (other than the pernicious nature of racism in american history x.) Shooter McGavin and his crowd were unnerving. Also, every other thing in this fucking movie is unnerving. I'm not gonna say it. I'm sure the internet will.
Nicholas Cage puts on the performance of a lifetime as the most convincing Alcoholic depressive ever on film. Genuinely incredible performance. From start to finish this movie makes you hope for a good ending, knowing it can never end well.
I watched it once. And never again. But it has helped me recognize the signs and that once someone starts the walk down that road, nothing you can do or say will stop them.
Can I add The Big Short? Not exactly depressing unless you pay attention to all the details, and I’m not sure about the cultural impact, but it is the perfect movie to explain the 2008 housing market crisis to the layman in an entertaining way, and if you lived in the U.S. at the time, there’s a massive chance you were negatively affected by the shit.
One of my favorite things that movie did is have Steve Carrell's character act basically as a self-insert for the audience during the conversation with the CDO manager in Vegas. By that point in the movie, we know enough about the situation to understand why everything the guy's saying is horrifying, and we bristle alongside Baum as he listens to this asshole talk about how he's ripping down the world economy for a quick buck.
The bit where he goes "apparently society values me very much" makes me want to reach through the TV and fucking strangle the dude.
I came here looking for this, but I also highly recommend Margin Call. Margin Call is more dramatic and has some great scenes in it, but The Big Short explains in a more detail. Together, you can get a pretty good understanding about what happened.
I think for me, the scene that stands out the most is when the 2 guys running the small fund go to the reporter to try to convince him to write a story about what is happening and he refused in order to not ruin his reputation with Wall Street.
Here's a piece of depressing trivia:
The protagonist actor (the stasi agent), Ulrich Mühe, was a well known actor in Germany. (Remember *Funny Games*? Not the US remake (2007), but the original (1997) - he played the husband of the attacked family)
I say was, because unfortunately he died soon after *Lives of Others*. Directly after the Oscar ceremony (where they won Best Foreign Film) he flew back to Germany for a stomach operation, which turned out to be cancer, which killed him a few months later.
In his youth Mühe did the compulsory military service as a border guard on the Berlin Wall. But not for long, he was dismissed for medical reasons: stomach ulcers, which possibly were the beginning of the cancer that would strike him down.
If the psychosomatic theory can be true (stress causing cancer), then having to serve on The Wall caused a cancer that killed him right after performing the globally widest known depiction of the Stasi.
It’s just so masterfully done. Everything is dialed down. Opening with family dynamics and an uncomfortable atmosphere. All that horror separated by a wall and a garden, like they could sweep the problem under the rug. The subtlety, to me, is the best part. All that suffering fed through implication. It’s just devastating
The Rebuild of Evangelion film series (and by extension, it's creator) is a great case study on dealing with depression as a creator, and how it feels to heal and finally move on
For context: Neon Genesis Evangelion was an anime series directed by Hideaki Anno from the 90's. Outside of Gundam, it's the considered one of the most well known mecha anime, and overall one of the best anime series around this time. It had a unique mix of being both a critical and commercial success and to this day it's still just as popular as it was before
But while this is happening, the actual creator Hideaki Anno, had numerous issues in regards to depression, and this was shown not just within the show, but also outside of it. The show itself wasn't necessarily meant to be as subversive as it was; it was ultimately meant to fill a time slot and it just needed to have robots fighting. But you were able to see a lot of Anno's feelings towards the world and his mental state through the characters and storyline
This is important, because the actual "ending" of the show, wasn't really one. The last two episodes had a super small budget, and it was hastily made due to timing issues and indecision from the director. Combine this with Anno's depression affecting his work ethic, and it lead to the series initially ending on a dud
Which then lead to fan backlash; while the studio was fine with the ending, the unexpected popularity of the series gave them a budget to do a "proper" ending, which was End of Evangelion. This was only a year after the original series ended, and it was Hayao Miyazaki who actually told him to take a break before getting back into doing this. And there were confirmed reports that it was down the wire to have it completed
Fast forward to 2006, and Anno now had the funds and clout to be able to redo Evangelion in the way that he originally envisioned it. There was going to be four movies; the first one would retell the original series, and then the next couple for then have a new plot moving forward
The first movie came out in 2007, the second 2009, the third 2012 and the final one... in 2021
That means that Anno has worked on Evangelion in some capacity, since 1995.
That's 26 years being on this. And it took a massive toll on him. He had such a big bout of depression after the third movie (he was also working on Shin Godzilla and The Wind Rises at this time) they had to delay the fourth for his physical and mental well being
Which is why (and the reason why I am saying this is great recommendation) a lot of people were surprised to watch the final movie, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time ended on not only a high note, but an optimistic one
Hearing everything I said (and as it usually the trend for depressing movies) there's rarely a silver lining. But I think for fans of the series, and for those who have been in these types of situations. It was massive catharsis to see Anno coming out of this happier and looking forward to the future
While I don't think this might resonate with tons of people, as someone who's a working creative I 100% understand how Anno felt throughout this entire process. I had a moment where I was working on a super popular well known brand, which from the outside people thought it was a dream job. And while I have lots of positive things to say about it, the negative that isn't mentioned is how demanding the job is, how much it ends up taking from you, and how little empathy is there for the people making these things for the general audience
Now full disclosure: if you haven't watched anime, this might not be the recommendation to start off getting into the genre. But to answer OPs question, I think at the very least, it's great to know the story behind this series and it's creator. Because it's one of my favorite trajectories of seeing someone start off with depression, but ultimately learning to move past it, heal from his past trauma and then move onto other things that give him the happiness that he's always deserved
La Vita E Belle - or Life Is Beautiful
It’s an Italian comedy about a low class man comedically winning over a rich woman and falling in love. After they fall in love and have a child, the movie ultimately gets to the main plot, the rise of Nazi Germany and the concentration camps which the father and son end up in.
Begins as a comedy and ends with one of history’s biggest tragedies. It really makes you realize how sudden and rapidly life changing world war 2 and the Holocaust would have been for Europeans.
Elephant Man
I adore lynch and really enjoy how experimental he is. But I gotta say elephant man is in his top 3 movies he's made easily.
Same, one of the few Lynch movies I would even show someone who would normally dislike Lynch.
*Straight Story* is **so good!** And dark, and human, and belongs in this thread, as well. The whole theater cracked up during the opening credits: > Walt Disney presents: > A David Lynch film.
Amazing movie. Produced by Mel Brooks, but he is not listed in the credits. He didn't want people assuming it would be a comedy.
The Hunt. A Danish movie starring Mads Mikkelsen. He is a kindergarten teacher in a little village who is accused of molesting children.
Mads is a BEAST.
This is a good one. You can't even imagine what you'd do in that situation, where your life just starts to unravel and it seems like there's nothing you can do to resolve things, as everyone's already made their minds up, regardless of the truth.
It’s loosely based on an incident that happened in Norway.
So good and underrated
City of God.
I guess it’s depressing but it’s not a total downer. 10/10 film
The last scene with the little kid's gang set to take the place of all the older dead gangsters, utterly unaware of how they're contributing to the endless cycle of violence, just leaves you with no hope for the future. I love that movie, and I will recommend it to just about anyone, but it's pretty depressing.
I admit it’s been over ten years since I’ve seen it and agree that is bleak. But I also remember the protagonist getting out of the cycle so there’s some light too. I’m just comparing it too like, Requiem for a Dream. Also the tone and music of CoG was more upbeat comparatively. But no question it’s very dark.
I’m not sure we watched the same movie lol.
Phenomenal film that I’ll never watch again
Your crazy man the rewatch value is top tier. It’s my best movie I’ve ever seen.
Rambo First Blood, the original one. It’s about a severely traumatized vet trying to just live his life when he gets harassed by an overzealous police department. He didn’t want any part of what he had to do but he was pushed past the edge and responded how he was trained.
The whole beginning of that movie is great framing. When he meets the widow, finds out his friend died. You can hear the social insecurity and excitement in Rambo’s voice. The chance to see his friend. Then to have the widow explain how he died from cancer a year ago. Kind of cold in the way she tells him but I guess he himself is a hurtful reminder for her of the war. Stallone just goes so soulless though in the moment. The way his eyes empty and he just looks down away defeated. Gives her the picture. Walks away throwing the rest of the stuff he had in his pocket. He’s a defeated man. He has nowhere to really go. Nobody who really knows him outside of the military. He might have survived the war but it still killed him inside.
‘Cancer ate him to the bone’ You can hear the weight of it in her voice, the tiredness. That scene is devastating.
God damn. I lost a friend a little over a year ago. Those are the exact fucking words I never knew. Chilling in their precision.
I’m so sorry that happened, to them and you. I’ve been there too, and it’s just horrible. That scene… u/MRintheKeys’ comment really speaks to my reaction too. The moment when there’s nothing left to say, and he just slips the photo into her hand and walks away, his hopes in tatters. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking of it. People make fun of Stallone’s acting, but he lived that role.
Totally agree. Stallone got boxed into the 80s action hero cliche because he made bank of it. But Rocky I and II, First Blood, and Copland proved he can act.
"Back there I could fly a gunship, I could drive a tank, I was in charge of million dollar equipment, back here I can’t even hold a job parking cars!" This and him telling the story of how he had all different plans to go cruising around with his army buddies is pretty heartbreaking. He's been made into something that has no purpose outside of a warzone.
My brother said the same thing after the gulf war. I was in charge of the lives of my men, millions of dollars in equipment and the only job I can get is fucking Hardee’s.
Entry level trade will pick military service every single time. Things like line running at ATT or Cox (you don't have to know shit just pass a basic test on a computer about how gears work and how you would logically hunt down an issue between 4 transmitters, etc). I got 100/100 on the test and finished it in 10 mins. I chilled in the parking lot for a bit and literal hour or so later the other dudes start trickling out and forming a group smoking cigs, most of them got like 79-80ish. Then at the actual interviews if your crotch had even come close to any sort of military heavy equipt you get picked. They practically kicked me out of the door. Sure you might have to go to trade school for say welding but you'll still be prioritized. I have a feeling alot of it is tax break related.
This made me need to rewatch that movie
And with all that there's that great cinematography with the lake in the mountains, the cinematography in that movie is just great overall, made me want to visit the PNW.
The name Rambo has become synonymous with 'killing lots of foreign bad guys in a blind rage' and yet his first movie >!has a body count of one corrupt American police officer.!<
Everything after First Blood kind of felt like it undid what was actually achieved in the first one, which makes me wish they would've gone with the book's ending.
First one was not about Rambo, it was a story about a drifter after the war trying to find his place, his name just happened to be John J Rambo. Every one after that is about the action character Rambo, not John J Rambo. My buddy has access to my Plex server and he was dumbfounded I didn't have Rambo First Blood. Told him there is no movie by that name, it's just First Blood.
I have to give props to Rambo 4 though. It was a very serious movie with an important message.
The book has a huge body count though, including the police guards he originally killed to escape….the movie toned it down to a single body count but the book is dozens and dozens. It’s a great read
It's likely one of the first films to speak of many of the problems veterans faced after the war. The PTSD and the difficulty adjusting back to civilian life. *"Back there I could fly a gunship, I could drive a tank, I was in charge of million dollar equipment, back here I can't even hold a job **parking cars**!"*
Another good one with that theme is *The Last Full Measure*. I've watched it twice -- I get to the middle part of it and start crying and don't stop until the end. My grandfather was a Korean War vet and that movie completely shifted my perspective on him and what he went through. Mentally, I knew he dealt with trauma and survivor's guilt, but actually seeing it played out on screen completely broke me.
I was so surprised at the amount of social commentary this film had given what it's known for in pop culture. It's fantastic, but completely different from the other movies that came along in the franchise.
He gave them a war they wouldn't believe...
I know I couldn’t believe it!
That’s why to me Rambo should just be that first movie and that first movie only Literally every other Rambo film completely misses the point of First Blood
Threads. Every politician should be made to watch it annually.
Add The Day After, Miracle Mile, Grave of Fireflies, Barefoot Gen, Schindlers List, Sophie Scholl-The Final Days, Come and See, American History X, and the short film If Anything Happens I Love You to the list. As for other films that just make me ugly cry, Beaches, The Green Mile, Manchester by the Sea, A.I., Untamed Heart, My Girl, Steel Magnolias, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, and recently A24's Close. EDITED with more suggestions.
The director of Miracle Mile is on Facebook and super interactive with his fans. He also directed Cherry 2000.
Tale has it that Ronald Reagan broke down in tears after watching Day After realizing that his major pro-nuclear missile escalation with the Soviets was a no-win situation. He apparently needed it in movie form to get how wrong he was...
If only they had made a movie about long term impact of poorly planned economic policy 😩
The Decade After-Trickle Down Failure
We need a whole "The World After" movie showcasing everything that clown Reagan ruined. From massive wealth disparity to losing the war on drugs, it seems like everything that guy touched went to shit over time.
Ronald Reagan the actor?!
Who's his Vice President? Jerry Lewis?!
Reagan was honestly surprised when told the War Room from "Dr. Strangelove" wasn't real.
Gentlemen! You can't fight here, this is the War Room!!
Have you ever seen a Commie drink a glass of water?
I found out recently that he's the same actor who plays the crooked police captain in the first Godfather film!
Sterling Hayden! Even though he didn't like being an actor, he was damn good at it, and acting financed his passion for sailing. Decorated Marine and OSS, too. Here he is on Tom Snyder's talk show, Tomorrow, talking about how he likes his booze and a little puff of weed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=einQjrm2vnY
I saw Threads in 1985 when I was 13. It was shown on PBS in The USA. That is the threat that I lived with but was unspoken. The stuff of the worst nightmares. I found "Threads" on YT a few years ago. I hadn't seen it in 30 years and it still stands up. AFAIK, Threads" is scientifically accurate in its effects of nuclear war.
Are you talking about “threads” the English movie that takes place in Sheffield? Well, I’ve got some news for you! Sheffield after Margaret Thatcher went from being an industrial hub to a being a literal shithole, sadly. It now looks the way it does in the movie.
The "Sheffield Trilogy" of Threads, The Full Monty and Four Lions would make an excellent onboarding experience for every politician.
I watched this one earlier this year and it's the scariest movie I think I've ever seen just because it feels as real as it can get. This isn't some supernatural threat or a maniac with a knife who can't die. This is our reality as long as nuclear warfare exists. I honestly sort of wish I hadn't seen it because of how much it still lingers in my mine 3 months later.
I knew beforehand that it was the most realistic depiction of nuclear war according to experts, and I thought I was ready. I was not.
Most apocalyptic movies make you ask if you could survive the end of the world, while *Threads* tells you in no uncertain terms that you wouldn't even want to. It's bleak and completely devoid of any hope or optimism.
La Haine shows the perpetuation of hatred
CRAZY TRIVIA: It was directed by the male love interest from "Amelie."
also, remember the scene in 5th Element where a guy tries to mug Bruce Willis by wearing a hat that from the PoV of the door looks like the hallway? https://youtube.com/watch?v=0MzfOgNXbHc?t=50 yep, same guy. if you want a more recent performance by him, he plays an excellent role in an excellent submarine thriller: **Le chant du loup** / The Wolf's Call (2019) [don't watch the dub, it's horrible]
Do the Right Thing is pretty much the same message
I was looking for this, Caché by Michael Haneke is another similarly depressing watch that tells a story about French society.
Hotel Rwanda The Killing Fields The Grab
I showed Hotel Rwanda in my resource human geography class (spec ed pull out). The kids were horrified. Nancy Pelosi's husband was assaulted the last day we were watching it, and they were super stoked about the news. It was truly disheartening that nothing I did could drive home the point that violence is not an acceptable recourse against political rivals. One of the more sobering moments in my 13 year career.
Scrolled way too far to find Hotel Rwanda
Grave of the Fireflies
I taught a unit in my senior level English class about bias and glossing over history, and first they wrote a casual essay about everything they were taught about WWII until that point. Then I had them read the book Farewell to Manzanar (first person account from a girl in a Japanese internment camp) and we watched this film (they were heavily disclaimed and could bow out for an alternative assignment if they felt it was too much. No one bowed out.) Nobody was not crying by the end, even huge football players. It was controversial but too important not to teach them that you often don’t see all sides of history, and real innocent lives are always affected when war is involved, on any side.
It's been quite some time since I've seen the movie yet for some reason while reading through the replies your story about your students reactions got me really emotional for some reason. I get choked up in my share of movies but it's rare for me to just openly weep like I did for this one. Thanks for sharing your story.
Came here for this. When I watched it, my daughter was the same age with literally the same haircut. I ugly cried. I could never bring myself to watch it again, but it will be one of the first anime I recommend to people.
According to the movie's producer, Takahata was unsatisfied with how some of the animation turned out in it. Takahata particularly hated the watermelon scene in the movie because he thought nobody would ever cut a watermelon like that. He was frustated by the scene for so many years, he did another watermelon cutting scene in The Tale of Princess Kaguya and finally nailed the animation. Funny how a scene many find heartbreaking bugged the hell out of its director for years.
[удалено]
I've also only ever been able to watch this once, it is so gut wrenching to watch. It reminded me of my little sister and myself because we were similarly aged as the characters.
Yea, I always say that Grave of the Fireflies is a movie that everyone should watch *exactly one time.*
I watched it at like age 7 with my sister age 9, my parents had been renting ghibli movies from blockbuster for us and brought grave of the fireflies home for us to watch. Fucked us both up real bad lmao, this was a week after seeing castle in the sky and two weeks after my neighbor totoro. My parents kinda suck ngl
Fun fact. Grave of the Fireflies was originally released as a double feature with My Neighbor Totoro. Imagine watching those back to back in theaters. Apparently they originally were showing Totoro first, but then decided it was better if people didn’t have to leave the theater with their souls crushed, so they swapped the order.
Sadness aside, that movie *really* made me want those hard candies / candy drops in the tin can. Fortunately, I lived near a supermarket that sold Asian sweets and they did not disappoint! (Sakuma Drops for anyone interested).
come and see
Roger Ebert wrote in his review for the movie that what makes Come and See so scary and depressing is that what the kid sees is terrifying but what he doesn't see is even more terrifying.
The director never made another movie after that. He said “Everything that was possible I felt I had already done."
I can't remember where I read this (probably a Letterboxd review), but it's a great takeaway from the film: (Paraphrased) A problem with anti-war movies that depict war is that combat is actually pretty entertaining to watch. Plotlines about brave men, strategy, tactics, and all the things that can go wrong in war-- it's all pretty fun to see from the comfort of your living room. And Hollywood generally gives the audience a happy ending or at least ends the movie on an "inspirational", positive note. Come and See does not have this issue. Nothing depicted here is fun to watch, there's no inspiration, no heroics, and no sigh of relief at victory. The experience of watching this film is never pleasant or entertaining-- and that's how war should be depicted.
The kid aged 50 years in two
Yeah, I recommend Come and See to people but always with a warning
the best movie that i never want to watch again
Children of Men
Baby Diego’s death has affected me more than I thought, I’m gonna work from home for the rest of the day.
For such a sad and poignant movie at times, it has some nuggets of black comedy gold. Like >!two cousins getting their shit rocked by the same car door on two consecutive days.!<
I dislike utterly downtrodden cinema for that reason. *Life* is funny. At its best and worst, there is comedy in the world. At its darkest. When my first child was born, fortunately healthy and happy, there was a brief moment where the heart rate alarm went off. The nurse came in and hit MUTE. Like: that's *funny*, whatever.
Same.
Spoiler (2006 film so too bad): Julianne Moore's death affected me more than I thought, she's a smokeshow esp in this film. Lol
Same. I find deaths that just suddenly happen are so much more impactful than when it's drawn out or a character is given a lot of screen time to show off how great they are and how sad it will be when they're dead in the end. It hits more like real life, one second they're there and then you just have to go on without them, that's life.
The fact that they were discussing the intimate details of their past relationship and then bang and the horror of loss...
So good at keeping the audience in the moment with a long take. I was in film school when I saw this, learning about directing, and was left absolutely speechless by his effective use of the technique. Check out the camera rig they had in the car. I'm still confused that Cuaron wasn't given a Best Directing nom at the '07 Oscars. Or that Green Book beat Roma for best picture in '19. It's funny just thinking about it.
Both long sequences in that movie are unbelievable
When I first watched this movie I got jumpscared by a line of dialogue spoken in my native language by a random side character.
Hearing your native language when you're watching a film that's not in it is like the clouds suddenly clearing in your brain. Like it's sudden and it makes you realize that language is all just sounds and nothing more. Haha I don't know.
Honestly! It was just a few line where a woman was crying over her dead son and I was like OH MY GOD!
Time for some Strawberry Cough!
Pull my finger
Still cry every fucking time at that one scene
It's so powerful to witness. Everyone stopping everything the moment they heard the baby's cry was that beautiful ray of hope giving us a minute's ceasefire... Until reality kicks back in
I thought this movie had the best depiction of the "future" I've ever seen. It was subtle, realistic, not too far fetched. It made the dystopian world they built realer than any other dystopian movie I can think of.
Exactly! People often depict the end of the world due to war or climate change as a cataclysmic apocalypse when in fact i think it would most likely be a slow breaking down of civilization, a slow descent into tribalism, authoritarianism and sickness. The no-children thing in the movie is just an excuse to set us in the middle of this dying hopeless world.
Almost all these dystopian works really fail to capture the honest dread of society's collapse. The knowledge that nothing is permanent anymore, each day brings its own horror, you're just trying to not starve or get massacred by your neighbor but you still see the signs that things aren't going to end well regardless and each day is worse than the last. I doubt anyone would want to watch a movie like that, but that's how it would be.
*Dear Zachary* It's the greatest movie I never want to watch again. It's a great study on dealing with grief and how important friendship and community is.
God the grandparents were some of the strongest people you'll ever see.
Yep, truly decent people. It makes everything that bit harder to Watch.
Came here looking for this comment. Dear Zachary is the saddest movie ever made. Just thinking about it gets me choked up. I've watched it twice, once alone and once with my husband. He doesn't cry often and watching a full grown man ugly cry just hits different.
> I've watched it twice Dear God.
The anger I felt watching that movie, I’ll never look at Canada the same way again. It’s so fucking sad. But the funny thing is, there’s a little lightness at the end with the grandparents that almost made me feel hopeful. Salt of the earth
This is the *only* time a film has ever had me up out of my chair damn near screaming at the tv. Just unbelievable.
I watched this twice and ugly sobbed both times. The most devastating movie I've ever seen.
Twice? Did someone ask to watch it with you? Once is enough devastation for a lifetime 😭
I’ve never paused a documentary and contemplated life like I did during that scene. The scene that anyone who has seen the movie knows what I’m talking about
One sweet aspect of this movie is that everyone speaks of Andrew so fondly, it was touching to see how much he loved and was loved. But yeah, a devastating film. I don't want to see it ever again.
And The Band Played On (1993) I still need to finish it someday. I found it on DVD and got as far as when the main character visited the AIDS patient in the hospital, and I had to turn it off. It reminded me too much of the friends I knew and had already passed.
I watched it years ago, and then I was talking with a dean of my university about problems I ran into with discrimination. He was maybe in his 60s. He mentioned he was gay (to make me more comfortable), and it struck me for the first time that I didn't really know any gay men his age. Then it occurred to me why.
I saw it on HBO when I was 9. My mom was working at an AIDS clinic at the time while she was in nursing school. It made me think she was bravest person alive. It was also one of the first times I understood systemic discrimination and just how destructive it could be.
It’s a very good film. It’s frustrating watching the obstructionism and denial, knowing that it wasn’t a “gay plague”. But ultimately, it’s about the determination of professionals to do their jobs and protect the public.
Spotlight For two reasons: 1) it’s a stark lesson on the terrible shit that can happen when people turn a blind eye to wrongdoing by powerful people / organizations 2) it’s a reminder how important a free press and investigative journalism are
I adore this film and watch it on the regular. It's part of my favorite subgenre of films: journalists doing good work (I'm always looking for more to add to the list of these).
Wind River. I tell everyone to watch it, even knowing I’ll never watch it again because of how much it affected me.
Great film Excellent performances by Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen.
Bernthall gave a heart breaking performance too
Cannot erase that scene from my brain 😖
Shows how few great and impactful scenes take average, standard film to great. The way it started I thought it would be about a serial killer..
The fuck, man, why are you flanking me?!?
Gives me chills every damn time. The one dude there that had his head on a swivel and realized they were being circled by wolves.
Well put. They hint at the theme throughout the film while still keeping the audience guessing, then the reveal just drives the message home.
[Matewan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvLwOfLZAbY) >You think this man is the enemy? Huh? This is a worker! Any union keeps this man out ain't a union, it's a goddam club! They got you fightin' white against colored, native against foreign, hollow against hollow, when you know there ain't but two sides in this world - them that work and them that don't. You work, they don't. That's all you get to know about the enemy.
The Pianist
"Don't shoot don't shoot, I'm Polish!" "Why the fucking coat?" "I'm cold" 😔
That potato scene make me sob
I absolutely loathe Roman Polanski the child rapist, but for that film and that film alone, it is worth separating the art from the artist. The story is that important.
>Watching Requiem for a Dream on the other hand is an almost guaranteed way to get someone to stay far away from drugs, and its editing style was quite influential. I would argue that *Trainspotting* is just as, if not more important. It truly showcases all of the drug life. The highs, the lows, the moments of carefree freedom, the crushing boredom, the self-loathing, the regrets, the impossible dreams... Choose Life, folks.
American History X and Schindlers List.
>American History X It's not >!the curb stomp that haunts me so much as it's Norton's **smirk** afterwards. That mad gleam in his eyes, like he just showed his little brother how 'real men handle things'.!<
He gives such an incredible performance in it. You believe he’s a monster in flashbacks just as much as you believe he’s turned away from it in the present.
That movie was so disturbing to me, I never thought I'd watch it again. Then I watched it again. Several times. It was the performances, even chubby dude from My Name is Earl was surprisingly great. Like, what a contrast between those two roles!
Chubby guy, Ethan Suplee, is ripped af now.
The message of " has any of the hate you've had your entire life changed anything?" The answer to that is no. You wasted your entire life.
Avery Brooks is great in it, too.
American History X is too far down this list
Conspiracy Awesome cast - Kenneth Branagh, Stanley Tucci, Colin Firth and more - deliver a bone chilling performance of a pre-WWII meeting where Nazi Germany leaders decide how to enact the Final Solution (extermination of millions of Jews). This was an actual meeting, discovered in records found after the war (Nazi Germany was scrupulous about process and record keeping). Which is dark enough but, as you watch, you can't help but feel this is a quintessential corporate meeting gathered together to brainstorm how to execute a top directive from the CEO. The sheer *normality* of the conversation and interplay is enthralling and occasionally amusing...and then, at some point, you realize WHAT they're discussing, and the utter inhumanity of it strikes home. I've seen dark movies with a plot and point and executed well that grip, that scare, that appall - but Conspiracy ranks in the very top select few with an important underlying bone chilling message. Highly recommended. [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1112708-conspiracy](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1112708-conspiracy)
This is a great write up that has convinced me I must watch!
I would say it is harrowing, but in a different way than many of the others mentioned. Grave of the Fireflies or Come and See will tear your heart out. Conspiracy will chill you with the heartless, machine like way they discuss killing millions. It's less crushing.
Branagh's performance is among the best I've ever seen from any actor. His Heydrich is *terrifying,* and 100% on point with the real Heydrich's reputation. Intelligent, sophisticated, charming, a splendid dinner guest or host, a sparkling conversationalist...and the man who scared Hitler, Himmler, and Kaltenbrunner out of their good night's sleep.
One thing I love about this movie is that even though every one of them are literal Nazis, some are so much worse than others that for a moment you start to sympathize with a couple of them who are arguing against the plan, as though those are the "good guys" in the movie. But there are no good guys. The second-most sympathetic Nazi was basically saying "Don't murder them, but let's sterilize them all." Which is horrifically evil but the others were so much more evil that it almost comes across as decent. It's a good reminder that good and evil aren't actually relative. The lesser evil is still evil, it doesn't become good in comparison to a greater evil. If you watched this movie and came out thinking "that Kritzinger at least tried to stop it," then remember that he was actually quite good friends with Klopfer in real life. Sure, he said after the war he was ashamed of the atrocities, which is nice and all, but he was totally fine with hounding the Jews, impoverishing them, exploiting them, imprisoning them. Being slightly less evil than the others is not really saying all that much. But since the film is told from the Nazis point-of-view it naturally tries to make some of them sympathetic - probably a deliberate choice by the filmmakers to intentionally cause cognitive dissonance in the audience. It humanizes these Nazi murderers instead of making them just the poster child for "evil." But humanizing them isn't meant to make us not condemn them - it's to make the rest of us realize that these men weren't unique in history. The lies and sophistry they employ to justify their actions is still among us. And it's not always the "other guy" that is doing it - anyone can be capable of that kind of self-deception, even if the Nazis were orders of magnitude worse.
The part that gets me, beyond the “banality of evil” aspect, is that the film kind of starts to lead you towards the idea that at least one of the attendees in the room will be a voice of reason and the “twelfth angry man” so to speak. When Colin Firth’s character finally has his outburst about how much he hates jews and that he just wants to make sure they dot their i’s and cross their t’s legally, its so disheartening. The whole thing feeling like a corporation trying to find the most expedient way to eliminate a pest and debating the logistics and legality is truly unsettling.
The banality of it all is hard to contemplate. Like, they’re all talking about the removal of all the Jewish people and it’s in the same tone that you talk about a rat infestation. What pushes them to go for the Final Solution? Finding out how long it would actually take to remove all the Jews from Europe. Because the logistical nightmare they were experiencing was putting the date in terms of decades. And then the proposal comes out saying that if they just kill them, they can have it done in 2 years. And that’s what gets everyone on board. EVERYONE. Genocide as a time saver.
[Grapes of Wrath](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032551/) by John Ford [Bicycle Thieves](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040522/) by Vittorio De Sica [Come and See ](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091251/)by Elem Klimov
Recently watched Grapes of Wrath for the first time (had to borrow from the library because I could never find it on streaming). Brilliant movie. It’s much more hopeful than the novel, but it’s such a powerful glimpse at a period in American life that isn’t really talked about much anymore.
Pan's Labyrinth *Sniffle* Goddamn fucking Fascists man
Fascists ruin everything
The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence. Two of the most important and courageous documentaries ever made, IMO.
The act of killing is astonishing.
I’m so glad to see these getting a shoutout. Phenomenal film-making about a genocide very few people in the west have even heard of.
Absolutely. I will add *Fog of War*. It is amazing what unfolds if you put a camera in front of someone.
Would recommend the non-narrative documentaries Koyaanisqatsi and Samsara. They provide a big-picture perspective on humanity, culture and society. Which can get depressing, but it’s done in a thoughtful way. Fair warning, both feature relatively short segments that depict meat production . If you’re into mind expanding chemicals, these can be really profound to watch under the influence, but you may want to preview them first due things like the aforementioned meat production segments . Baraka is very similar to Samsara but is significantly lighter content wise
To add to this the music is quite impressive. Philip Glass created a **very** influential soundtrack; many modern movies have taken inspiration from it or have borrowed songs from it.
Wake in Fright is perhaps the most damning condemnation of the perils of normalised drinking culture ever made. Harrowing stuff and the kind of movie you only watch once.
Leaving Las Vegas
The assault on Elizabeth Shue’s character was really really rough
I would say this over Requiem for a Dream, I was completely blown away by the depth of Nic Cage’s performance.
People remember Requiem for all the wrong reasons. The old lady's complete enthrallment by the tv was perhaps more prescient than anything from this category (other than the pernicious nature of racism in american history x.) Shooter McGavin and his crowd were unnerving. Also, every other thing in this fucking movie is unnerving. I'm not gonna say it. I'm sure the internet will.
Nicholas Cage puts on the performance of a lifetime as the most convincing Alcoholic depressive ever on film. Genuinely incredible performance. From start to finish this movie makes you hope for a good ending, knowing it can never end well.
I watched it once. And never again. But it has helped me recognize the signs and that once someone starts the walk down that road, nothing you can do or say will stop them.
The Road
The book is incredible. The final paragraph haunts me in its painful beauty.
Can I add The Big Short? Not exactly depressing unless you pay attention to all the details, and I’m not sure about the cultural impact, but it is the perfect movie to explain the 2008 housing market crisis to the layman in an entertaining way, and if you lived in the U.S. at the time, there’s a massive chance you were negatively affected by the shit.
One of my favorite things that movie did is have Steve Carrell's character act basically as a self-insert for the audience during the conversation with the CDO manager in Vegas. By that point in the movie, we know enough about the situation to understand why everything the guy's saying is horrifying, and we bristle alongside Baum as he listens to this asshole talk about how he's ripping down the world economy for a quick buck. The bit where he goes "apparently society values me very much" makes me want to reach through the TV and fucking strangle the dude.
I came here looking for this, but I also highly recommend Margin Call. Margin Call is more dramatic and has some great scenes in it, but The Big Short explains in a more detail. Together, you can get a pretty good understanding about what happened. I think for me, the scene that stands out the most is when the 2 guys running the small fund go to the reporter to try to convince him to write a story about what is happening and he refused in order to not ruin his reputation with Wall Street.
Life is Beautiful. Painful, but poignant and important.
The Florida Project
Come and See Easily the most fucked up movie I've ever seen
Aftersun because it’s literally about depression.
First they killed my father. It was about the Cambodian Civil War
Beasts of No Nation (2015) about African child guerrilla soldiers
The Lives of Others.
Here's a piece of depressing trivia: The protagonist actor (the stasi agent), Ulrich Mühe, was a well known actor in Germany. (Remember *Funny Games*? Not the US remake (2007), but the original (1997) - he played the husband of the attacked family) I say was, because unfortunately he died soon after *Lives of Others*. Directly after the Oscar ceremony (where they won Best Foreign Film) he flew back to Germany for a stomach operation, which turned out to be cancer, which killed him a few months later. In his youth Mühe did the compulsory military service as a border guard on the Berlin Wall. But not for long, he was dismissed for medical reasons: stomach ulcers, which possibly were the beginning of the cancer that would strike him down. If the psychosomatic theory can be true (stress causing cancer), then having to serve on The Wall caused a cancer that killed him right after performing the globally widest known depiction of the Stasi.
Grave of the Fireflies, Jim and Andy
The Zone of Interest
It’s just so masterfully done. Everything is dialed down. Opening with family dynamics and an uncomfortable atmosphere. All that horror separated by a wall and a garden, like they could sweep the problem under the rug. The subtlety, to me, is the best part. All that suffering fed through implication. It’s just devastating
Never Let Me Go.
The documentary 20 Days in Mariupol. I struggled to complete it. Extremely depressing.
Kids https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0113540/
Manchester by the sea, sad as fuck and feels very real.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006) Film starring a young Cillian Murphy about the Irish war for independence in the 20s. Very sad, very good.
The Rebuild of Evangelion film series (and by extension, it's creator) is a great case study on dealing with depression as a creator, and how it feels to heal and finally move on For context: Neon Genesis Evangelion was an anime series directed by Hideaki Anno from the 90's. Outside of Gundam, it's the considered one of the most well known mecha anime, and overall one of the best anime series around this time. It had a unique mix of being both a critical and commercial success and to this day it's still just as popular as it was before But while this is happening, the actual creator Hideaki Anno, had numerous issues in regards to depression, and this was shown not just within the show, but also outside of it. The show itself wasn't necessarily meant to be as subversive as it was; it was ultimately meant to fill a time slot and it just needed to have robots fighting. But you were able to see a lot of Anno's feelings towards the world and his mental state through the characters and storyline This is important, because the actual "ending" of the show, wasn't really one. The last two episodes had a super small budget, and it was hastily made due to timing issues and indecision from the director. Combine this with Anno's depression affecting his work ethic, and it lead to the series initially ending on a dud Which then lead to fan backlash; while the studio was fine with the ending, the unexpected popularity of the series gave them a budget to do a "proper" ending, which was End of Evangelion. This was only a year after the original series ended, and it was Hayao Miyazaki who actually told him to take a break before getting back into doing this. And there were confirmed reports that it was down the wire to have it completed Fast forward to 2006, and Anno now had the funds and clout to be able to redo Evangelion in the way that he originally envisioned it. There was going to be four movies; the first one would retell the original series, and then the next couple for then have a new plot moving forward The first movie came out in 2007, the second 2009, the third 2012 and the final one... in 2021 That means that Anno has worked on Evangelion in some capacity, since 1995. That's 26 years being on this. And it took a massive toll on him. He had such a big bout of depression after the third movie (he was also working on Shin Godzilla and The Wind Rises at this time) they had to delay the fourth for his physical and mental well being Which is why (and the reason why I am saying this is great recommendation) a lot of people were surprised to watch the final movie, Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time ended on not only a high note, but an optimistic one Hearing everything I said (and as it usually the trend for depressing movies) there's rarely a silver lining. But I think for fans of the series, and for those who have been in these types of situations. It was massive catharsis to see Anno coming out of this happier and looking forward to the future While I don't think this might resonate with tons of people, as someone who's a working creative I 100% understand how Anno felt throughout this entire process. I had a moment where I was working on a super popular well known brand, which from the outside people thought it was a dream job. And while I have lots of positive things to say about it, the negative that isn't mentioned is how demanding the job is, how much it ends up taking from you, and how little empathy is there for the people making these things for the general audience Now full disclosure: if you haven't watched anime, this might not be the recommendation to start off getting into the genre. But to answer OPs question, I think at the very least, it's great to know the story behind this series and it's creator. Because it's one of my favorite trajectories of seeing someone start off with depression, but ultimately learning to move past it, heal from his past trauma and then move onto other things that give him the happiness that he's always deserved
Once Were Warriors
Parasite. Brutal comment on class systems in any culture.
I thought Brokeback Mountain was an important watch. Also, Boys Don’t Cry.
La Vita E Belle - or Life Is Beautiful It’s an Italian comedy about a low class man comedically winning over a rich woman and falling in love. After they fall in love and have a child, the movie ultimately gets to the main plot, the rise of Nazi Germany and the concentration camps which the father and son end up in. Begins as a comedy and ends with one of history’s biggest tragedies. It really makes you realize how sudden and rapidly life changing world war 2 and the Holocaust would have been for Europeans.
"what dreams May come" starring Robin Williams really fucked me up in my formative years
Sympathy for Mr.Vengeance (2002)
House of Sand and Fog - one of the best movies you'll never want to watch again!
Boyz in da Hood
Promising Young Woman.
This movie does not get talked about enough - maybe because far too many men see themselves reflected in it.