Unforgettable Emotional Movies That Will Break Your Heart

Get the tissues ready and steel yourself for the emotional workout to come. There’s no way around it: emotional movies work their way into our hearts and minds. They make us feel, and in that argumentative essay, they play both sides of the fence.

In fact, even as they break our hearts, they tell the viewer that there’s a reason to keep turning the pages of the Book of Life. And if emotional movies do that, then really, what else but a good story is part of the emotional movie’s secret sauce?

For an emotionally charged, thrilling cinema experience, there’s no better place to turn than this list of emotional movies. Among today’s sad stories, these stand out as powerful, momentous journeys filled with unforgettable characters. If you’re looking for something to lose yourself in, something that will shake you to your core and leave a lasting impression, time with any of these sad stories will more than suffice.

Here are 10 unforgettable emotional films that will break your heart in the best (and worst) way possible.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Directed by: Gabriele Muccino

Starring: Will Smith, Jaden Smith

Based on a true story; it follows Chris Gardner, a struggling single father trying to build a better life with his son. Will Smith delivers a raw and heartbreaking performance in this movie. The bathroom scene will leave you devastated.

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Helmed by: Isao Takahata

Cast: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi

Studio Ghibli’s animated tour de force lays bare the tale of two half-starved kids attempting to stay alive in Japan during the onslaught of World War II. This film is a blazing indictment not just of that bombing, but of war in general and the way it wreaks havoc on humanity. It’s gut-wrenching and beautiful, and it dares you to hold back your tears in the end.

Blue Valentine (2010)

Directed by: Derek Cianfrance

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams

A brutally honest portrayal of love found and lost, Blue Valentine leaps between the past and present to show how a once-passionate relationship slowly unravels into nothingness. It is raw, real, and utterly heart-wrenching.

My Girl (1991)

My Girl remains one of the strongest contenders in the field of childhood trauma.

Directed by: Howard Zieff

Starring: Anna Chlumsky and Macaulay Culkin,

1991’s My Girl is about growing up and learning that life is finite (that kind of knowledge really is a hallmark of adulthood). Though it features an unconventional story arc for a kids’ movie, My Girl is a classic.

The Green Mile (1999)

Directed by: Frank Darabont

Starring: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan

A supernatural drama set on death row, The Green Mile offers up uncanny, unforgettable performances, and powerful, potent messages about justice, compassion, and humanity. I can’t think of another movie that’s so on-the-nose with its dual big themes of mild spoiler alert here “just because a person looks scary on the outside doesn’t mean they’re a bad person on the inside” and “death is not the end; life is.”