# Best tear-jerking line(s) in a modern movie. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 20, 2005, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971 "2005-06-20T00:58:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/161 "2005-06-30T18:01:59Z")
The scene in Dances with Wolves, when the former Lt Dunbar and Stands with a Fist are leaving the People. The man standing on the cliff yelling, “I am Wind in His Hair! Do you see that I am your friend?” I totally lose it. Every single time, and I’ve seen it 20-30 times. (I sympathize with the poster who said they opened the thread at work. And I’m having that “emotional time” that women have, too!) ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/162 "2005-06-30T20:39:54Z")
Something from _The Winter People_ never, ever fails to get to me: Two families, a la Hatfield and McCoy. Woman from one family + man from the other = single mother with baby boy. Baby’s father is killed by woman’s family and a life for a life is required. Kelly McGillis, wishing to end the killing, takes her son to his father’s family, where she pleads that they accept her son as the life required (not to kill him, but to raise him). She returns home with empty arms and dully explains to her family what she has done, saying that the old man will love him and care for him. Then the enormity of her loss hits her. Her head falls back and she weeps loudly in agony. Oh, and this one from _The Color Purple_: “Net-TIEEEEEEEE!!!” OK, now I need the Kleenex! ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/163 "2005-06-30T21:19:52Z")
> [@DarRRva](#): > > Well if we’re doing tv shows as well, then the scene from the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Xander is asking Andrew about Anya, and he says Well, what gets ME in that ep, is… [SPOILER]Xander calling for Anya as they’re fleeing the school, because he doesn’t know she’s dead already. Also: “I love you.” “No you don’t. But thanks for saying it.”[/SPOILER] ---
**Author:** ![Tamryne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3e96dc/32.png) [@Tamryne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamryne)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/164 "2005-06-30T22:43:28Z")
Adding on to Requiem for a Dream, the part that got me really bad was when Harry’s mom finally snapped from those pills, after the fridge grew the huge mouth. When shes running around and tripping, and that music is going on in the background, I just start sobbing! ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2005, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/165 "2005-06-30T23:01:25Z")
No one has mentioned the classic from **On the Waterfront** **Charlie:** Look, kid, I - how much you weigh, son? When you weighed one hundred and sixty-eight pounds you were beautiful. You coulda been another Billy Conn, and that skunk we got you for a manager, he brought you along too fast. **Terry:** It wasn’t him, Charley, it was you. Remember that night in the Garden you came down to my dressing room and you said, “Kid, this ain’t your night. We’re going for the price on Wilson.” You remember that? “This ain’t your night”! My night! I coulda taken Wilson apart! So what happens? He gets the title shot outdoors on the ballpark and what do I get? A one-way ticket to Palooka-ville! You was my brother, Charley, you shoulda looked out for me a little bit. You shoulda taken care of me just a little bit so I wouldn’t have to take them dives for the short-end money. **Charlie:** Oh I had some bets down for you. You saw some money. **Terry:** You don’t understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let’s face it. It was you, Charley. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/166 "2005-07-01T02:36:59Z")
In _Highlander_ when Connor is holding his wife. She is dying of old age while he still looks the same as when they first met. He looks into infinity, “You’re walking down a hillside in the moors. It’s not cold, but you’ve got your sheepskins on. And the boots I made for you.” Sometime during this line, Heather has died. He looks down at his wife’s body cradled in his arms. “Good bye, my love.” The three movies of _Lord of the Rings_ have lots of lines that make me tear up. One that hasn’t been mentioned yet is when Treebeard sees what Saruman has done to the forest. “You will see something that has not been seen for an Age. The Ents are going to war.” The end of _Big_ got me crying hard when I first saw it. I haven’t seen it since then, but I think the line that got me was something like, “Good bye. I’ve gotta go grow up.” Another line I can’t exactly remember that made me choke up was in _Dances with Wolves_. He’s been caputured by soldiers, one of whom knocks him down and tells him to speak English. He says something in Sioux to the effect of, “I am a Sioux warrior, not one of _you_ people.” ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/167 "2005-07-01T03:32:57Z")
I have three Chinese daughters, so pretty much every single line of **Mulan** is a winner for me. Aiside from that: During **Finding Neverland** (me to NoCoolSpouseName): > [@](#): > > What is it about three actors hanging from ropes holding a teddy bear between them pretending to be children that is so compelling? and the reply: > [@](#): > > You’re not the only one, there are a lot of people with allergies in here. (OK, that’s not a line FROM the movie, it happened DURING the movie.) Add me to the voters for **6th Sense** : “EVERY day” As well as **On the Waterfront** : “It was YOU Charlie.” And **The Princess Bride** : “I want my father back, you son of a bitch.” ---
**Author:** ![Sarah\_Woodruff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sarah\_Woodruff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarah_Woodruff)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/168 "2005-07-01T07:48:19Z")
This was a suprising one for me, but the scene in _Reservoir Dogs_ when Mr Orange [SPOILER](who in reality is Freddy the Undercover Cop), has to go out and meet the gang and hurries around his apartment getting ready - the music is quite “lonely-sounding”, and then he stops and looks at himself in the mirror and says: “You’re not gonna get hurt. You’re fucking Baretta and they believe every word, because you’re super cool.” That actually brought tears to my eyes…because it shows that he’s a really young, “green” guy, and you know that he’s going to die in appalling agony within 24 hours.[/SPOILER] And virtually the whole of [The Bear](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095800/) makes me cry… ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/169 "2005-07-01T13:07:04Z")
> [@NoCoolUserName](#): > > I have three Chinese daughters, so pretty much every single line of **Mulan** is a winner for me. Please don’t forget to tell them they \*are \* special so they don’t grow up with daddy issues like the rest of us. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/170 "2005-07-01T15:06:13Z")
Then there’s the bit in _Gladiator_ where Maximus has just fixed Commodus’s wagon despite being mortally wounded before the off, and Commodus’s nicer sister comes to tell Maximus that his wife and son are waiting and it’s all right for him to go to them, and then the scene shifts to the family meeting up in the Elysian Fields, and… :: sniffle :: ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/171 "2005-07-01T16:28:18Z")
I should really quit reading this thread, as it keeps reminding me of more. I watched (for the umpteenth time) the _extremely_ underrated [You Can Count On Me](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203230/) with Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo. There’s a scene where Terry (Ruffalo) has visited his sister Sam (Linney) to borrow money to help his girlfriend pay for an abortion. He’s at her house, and tries to call his girlfriend (Gaby Hoffman). He finds out that she’s attempted suicide, and no one will let him talk to her. After he hangs up the phone, he sits on a bed, and tries to keep his composure. He can’t quite do it, and his vulnerability is extremely moving. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/172 "2005-07-01T16:45:40Z")
> [@Casey1505](#): > > It wasn’t so much a line, but in _Big Fish_, > > when the son carried his dying father into the lake, and he swam away as the fish, my allergies acted up all of a sudden, and my eyes began to water. Oh, was that what it was? I was crying like a baby in that movie. I’ve never reacted to a movie that strongly, before or since. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/173 "2005-07-01T16:54:53Z")
> [@DeVena](#): > > From Forrest Gump: > > Jenny: I’m a mama. His name’s Forrest. > Forrest: Like me! > Jenny: I named him after his daddy. > Forrest: He got a daddy named Forrest, too? > Jenny: You’re his daddy, Forrest. Isn’t he beautiful? > Forrest: He’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. But… is… is he smart? Or is he… > > Oh dear god, where are the tissues? Also from Forrest Gump, where he’s standing by Jenny’s grave telling her what’s happened, and all of a sudden, he tears up and tells her how much he misses her. All I could think of was how he had loved her unconditionally for so long, and how incredibly rare such a thing is in real life. And then something got in my eye. ---
**Author:** ![CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crankyasanoldman/32/11670_2.png) [@CrankyAsAnOldMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrankyAsAnOldMan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/174 "2005-07-01T17:33:11Z")
During Sling Blade, when Karl says to Vaughan: "That Frank, he lives inside of his own heart. That’s an awful big place to live in. " That’s just a scene or two after Karl says goodbye to Frank. also a tearjerker: "I kinda want to put my arm around you, then I’m gonna get up out of here and leave. I love you, boy. " The actor who plays Frank looks an awful lot like my nephew. I started sniffling when Doyle was treating Frank like crap (calling him weird, and weak, and a pussy). I never really stopped after that, so the lines above just about did me in. ---
**Author:** ![Amaranta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Amaranta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amaranta)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/175 "2005-07-01T18:00:17Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > Also from Forrest Gump, where he’s standing by Jenny’s grave telling her what’s happened, and all of a sudden, he tears up and tells her how much he misses her. All I could think of was how he had loved her unconditionally for so long, and how incredibly rare such a thing is in real life. And then something got in my eye. “You died on a Tuesday morning…” _sniffle sniffle choke sob_. Even if I’ve managed to mostly hold it together til that point, that’ll just send me right over the edge. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/176 "2005-07-01T18:34:51Z")
> [@Yeticus Rex](#): > > ## \*\*John Kinsella: Well, good night Ray. Ray Kinsella: Good night, John. [They shake hands and John begins to walk away] Ray Kinsella: Hey… Dad? [John turns] Ray Kinsella: [choked up] “You wanna have a catch?” John Kinsella: I’d like that. > > Anyone who has issues with their father (like me), broke down at that point. I DON’T have issues with my father. My father and I love each other dearly and have a great relationship. And I’m still sniffling just reading it. For me, though, even worse is the scene in Forrest Gump where he’s speaking to Jenny at her grave. I cried like a baby. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2005, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/177 "2005-07-01T19:54:15Z")
> [@KRM](#): > > Another one from Apollo 13 when the mother is explaining to her son that something has gone wrong on his daddy’s spaceship. > > > [@](#): > > > > Was it the door? > > I don’t know why, but that really gets me. During testing for Apollo 1, a fire broke out in the capsule. Workers could not get door open. The three astronauts burned to death. The son was probably very much aware of this. ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/178 "2005-07-02T02:16:51Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Please don’t forget to tell them they \*are \* special so they don’t grow up with daddy issues like the rest of us. 🙂 Uh…have you SEEN the movie? It’s pretty much “daddy issues” all over. I hope they don’t have any, but helping them grow up to make their own decisions and being proud of being Chinese AND American is top dog in my lexicon.\* \*Whew…did I make a hash of that or what? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2005, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/179 "2005-07-02T03:43:18Z")
> [@Terminus Est](#): > > During testing for Apollo 1, a fire broke out in the capsule. Workers could not get door open. The three astronauts burned to death. > > The son was probably very much aware of this. Yeah, they make a point of Tom Hanks explaining that they couldn’t get the door open to his son. That was the fire that killed Virgil “Gus” Grissom, right? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2005, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971/180 "2005-07-02T04:07:24Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Yeah, they make a point of Tom Hanks explaining that they couldn’t get the door open to his son. > > That was the fire that killed Virgil “Gus” Grissom, right? Yes. Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. Official NASA webpage on the tragedy: [Apollo 1](http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo1info.html) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-tear-jerking-line-s-in-a-modern-movie/308971.md?page=10)