Over the years Grave of the Fireflies has come up in various “best films” threads here, and always with the caution about how sad it made viewers feel. For that reason I was leery of watching it. But until this thread, I didn’t know what it was about. Thank you everyone who gave the details. I cannot watch children-in-peril movies, though I can muscle my way through many other distressing things. I think that I shall never see this movie.
Winter’s Bone and No Country for Old Men I consider extremely bleak. I recently read McCarthy’s book and the movie is very faithful to it. It’s very much about the inexorable nature of evil.
Several people have mentioned The House of Sand and Fog. I couldn’t even see the movie because the novel, by Andre Dumas III left me curled up in a fetal position. Still, if you can manage it it’s an amazing tragedy.
Sounds to me like the only way to make this movie more bleak would be to play a bad joke on them.
After they die, they go to Hell and are greeted by The Devil who tells them that if they don’t like it there, they can pull some lever and they will be sent to heaven. Naturally, one by one, they all pull the lever.
When they reach heaven, they are greeted by the Devil who tells them that he runs both places and why would they ever think anything different? But he offers them the choice to suicide and end their torment. Naturally they all accept and one by one, they all suicide. But when they do … they are greeted by The Devil who tells them …
Hmmm … this could go on for quite a long time. It could actually be reprieved from its original bleakness and become a comedy of sorts.
But it was so appropriate because it was meant to show just how punishing alcohol addiction is and the penalties for becoming addicted.
I would think that most films that delve into addictions to drugs like Heroin should be just as bleak. Honest but bleak. It’s foolish to try and scare people away from Heroin by being dishonest about the consequences. Besides, there is no need. Simply portraying an accurate picture of the consequences of Heroin addiction is plenty to give people a good idea of what will happen if they try to “chase the dragon” as it were. It’s nothing to mess with.
Same goes for all other addictive drugs - IMHO, alchohol is one of the very worst because of the huge numbers of people who die or otherwise suffer as a result of alcohol abuse - specifically due to people who drive drunk awa people who get real nasty and destructive when they drink and get into fights and harm others. All kinds of other destructive effects when people abuse alcohol.
Heroin addicts usually just harms themselves (and indirectly, their families). But Alcohol abusers harm so many people in so many diff ways.
I found the 1956 version to be significantly better. But both were excellent.
The 1978 version had Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum and Leonard Nimoy. So there was no shortage of good actors.
But the 1958 version in B&W just felt more realistic and more scary. It was the first example where I saw just what the effect of making a film in Black and White could be and how it made the film better.
But I guess many people will disagree and to each their own. I have both in my collection and if you like either version, I would recommend you might also like to get both and compare them.
Matt Dillon, Kelly Lynch and Heather Graham made this film very enjoyable - even in a very bleak way.
It was one of Max Perlich’s first films. You may not recognize that name. But as soon as you see his face, you will recognize him. A great character actor. Ever see Georgia, Beautiful Girls or Blow? He was in them all.
I enjoyed him as the crime scene photographer on Homicide: Life on the Street.
Add me to the chorus of those voting for Lars van Trier’s entire body of work.
Seriously. Not only was Kirsten Dunst playing an extremely unlikeable character. What could be more bleak than a movie about someone who is so depressed, the high point of her world is a another planet smashing into it.