# Movies that upset you terribly **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 15, 2014, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417 "2014-02-15T13:21:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/41 "2014-02-16T15:45:12Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I don’t have kids and I completely agree with you. I don’t know what it is that makes some of us more sensitive to violence than others. \ Violence (in movies) I can deal with, in fact I can deal with most anything in movies, but after having a kid, things having to deal with kids started getting to me, but I guess that makes sense. Hell, I have hard time watching those kid/soldier reunion things on the news/youtube. Ya know, like when the dad that’s been away at war pops out of a box or is the umpire at the little league game and the kid doesn’t even know he’s back in town yet. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/42 "2014-02-16T16:30:33Z")
Someone upthread pointed to Requiem for a Dream. I’ve seen that movie mentioned many times in the thread about Bleak Movies as well as the one about Movies that caused people a large emotional impact. I just saw it and I really don’t get it. It just didn’t seem like a very good film to me. I saw that several of the lead characters shared one kind of addiction or another and they also seemed to hold on to some dream about the future that just didn’t seem very realistic. But what I don’t understand is why so many people found this movie to be so powerful that it is the one they would single out in so many threads. I’d very much appreciate if someone could explain to me what it was about this movie that people found so powerful or so memorable. ---
**Author:** ![rucciface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ba9def/32.png) [@rucciface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rucciface)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/43 "2014-02-16T16:33:21Z")
In reply to **ekedolphin** I couldn’t even get to the end of the Wiki article! The movie?..no way in hell. ---
**Author:** ![jebert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ec9cab/32.png) [@jebert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jebert)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/44 "2014-02-16T17:09:00Z")
_The Last Picture Show_ with Cybil Shepherd was very depressing to me at the time, due to personal circumstances. I didn’t get over it for several weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/45 "2014-02-16T17:12:40Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > The rape scene in Showgirls really upset me. It was so needlessly cruel it makes it difficult to laugh at that movie like many do. You just didn’t get the \*irony \*of the scene. :rolleyes: (That’s sure to be misunderstood. I meant it as snark at the director’s vomitous defenses of the movie.) ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/46 "2014-02-16T17:16:15Z")
“Robin Hood: Men in Tights” and “Cool World”. OHHH! That kind of upset! I never have been upset that much by a movie, probably because I don’t see anything that extreme. Closest thing to an answer- the original TV miniseries SYBIL. When Mom raises her feet into the air & gets the button-hook, OK- I’m turning away. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/47 "2014-02-16T17:23:47Z")
> [@Charlie\_Wayne](#): > > Someone upthread pointed to Requiem for a Dream. > > I’ve seen that movie mentioned many times in the thread about Bleak Movies as well as the one about Movies that caused people a large emotional impact. > > I just saw it and I really don’t get it. > > It just didn’t seem like a very good film to me. I saw that several of the lead characters shared one kind of addiction or another and they also seemed to hold on to some dream about the future that just didn’t seem very realistic. > > But what I don’t understand is why so many people found this movie to be so powerful that it is the one they would single out in so many threads. > > I’d very much appreciate if someone could explain to me what it was about this movie that people found so powerful or so memorable. IIRC Requiem For A Dream tends to show up in threads about movies you Loved (or Hated) but would never watch again. I like that movie, and would happily watch it again. But then, as I said earlier, movies rarely ‘get to me’ like they do to other people. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/48 "2014-02-16T17:28:04Z")
Which reminds me, of all the extreme torture porn horror I’ve read about but not seen, I am actually intriqued with the idea of seeing “Martyrs”. Should I? ---
**Author:** ![Steken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Steken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steken)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/49 "2014-02-16T17:31:25Z")
Seconding **Dear Zachary**. I passed out halfway through **The Piano Teacher**. And then there’s **Come And See** … Ye gods… ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/50 "2014-02-16T18:25:41Z")
Glad to see I’m not the only one who disliked _Life Is Beautiful_. And of course, it’s a total _deus ex machina_ of an ending: if the Allied tanks get there a day later, the kid winds up in an oven. So the moral of the story - that you can make life’s difficulties all turn out OK by having the right attitude towards life - is, you know, bullshit. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/51 "2014-02-16T18:39:44Z")
**Dear Zachary** certainly qualifies ten times over, but the one movie I think of that emotionally wrecks me every time I watch it is **Grave of the Fireflies**. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/52 "2014-02-16T19:05:56Z")
**Sleeping with the Enemy** (1990) Even though Julia Roberts’ tormentor gets his comeuppance, the mere thought of so many real women out there who’ve been raped and abused yet will never receive justice still haunts me to no end. Just thinking about it now makes me want to stab somebody’s eye out. :mad: What’s **Dear Zachary** about? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/53 "2014-02-16T19:25:56Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Glad to see I’m not the only one who disliked _Life Is Beautiful_. And of course, it’s a total _deus ex machina_ of an ending: if the Allied tanks get there a day later, the kid winds up in an oven. So the moral of the story - that you can make life’s difficulties all turn out OK by having the right attitude towards life - is, you know, bullshit. Seems to me the title ought to be _Life is a Crapshoot_. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/54 "2014-02-16T20:16:30Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > Just read the Wikipedia article for 120 Days of Sodom. My God! Did anyone actually get _through_ that movie? > [@rucciface](#): > > In reply to **ekedolphin** I couldn’t even get to the end of the Wiki article! The movie?..no way in hell. As I alluded to above, yes, yes I did. Unfortunately. It was the most irredeemable piece of crap I’ve ever seen. And the only reason I pushed on was because I was hoping something could save it at the end. How horribly wrong I was. My stomach still turns over just at the thought of it. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/55 "2014-02-17T17:11:53Z")
> [@rucciface](#): > > In reply to **ekedolphin** I couldn’t even get to the end of the Wiki article! The movie?..no way in hell. Well, the book _The 120 Days of Sodom_ was by Donatien Alphonse François, [Marquis de Sade](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_de_Sade), what did you expect? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/56 "2014-02-17T17:44:25Z")
_Would You Rather_(2012)-the most depressing “what are we willing to justify to get what we want” movie I’ve ever seen. While there are actual “bad guys” in it, the true physical and mental violence is done by the supposed victims towards each other. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/57 "2014-02-17T17:56:59Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > What’s **Dear Zachary** about? It’s a documentary by someone whose friend got married\*, had a kid, and then died (all of that takes place before the documentary begins). That’s all I’ll say, for your sake (spoilers) and for mine (got work to do today, no time to stare into space or cry). (\*ETA: Maybe the friend didn’t actually get married. Not important.) ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2014, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/58 "2014-02-17T17:59:53Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Glad to see I’m not the only one who disliked _Life Is Beautiful_. And of course, it’s a total _deus ex machina_ of an ending: if the Allied tanks get there a day later, the kid winds up in an oven. So the moral of the story - that you can make life’s difficulties all turn out OK by having the right attitude towards life - is, you know, bullshit. Yeah, why didn’t all of the imprisoned fathers just do like that? Then the kids would have been saved! ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/59 "2014-02-17T18:10:35Z")
The first time I watched _Angel Heart,_ it disturbed me greatly. But I thought I needed to watch it again so I could stop thinking about it so much. ---
**Author:** ![vontsira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/51bf81/32.png) [@vontsira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vontsira)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417/60 "2014-02-17T20:08:34Z")
One which upsets me, for idiosyncratic own reasons: _The Train_ (1964, director John Frankenheimer: set in 1944, Germans about to pull out of Paris, German “loose cannon” guy trying to steal and take back home, large hoard of French modern-art-type paintings). Am a railway and steam-loco enthusiast; so find the film distressing, because of the sky-high mayhem and wrecking of French railways and railway stock, at that stage of the war – perpetrated by both sides – which it features. Seeing the film – one can believe the statistic that in late 1944, only one out of every ten locomotives which the French railways had had on their books four years previously, was still in working order. When watching the film – I couldn’t give a damn about the bloody paintings, and find the people-butchering-people part, sort of medium-disturbing; but I grieve over the havoc perpetrated on the railways. This plainly marks me out as an obsessed hobby-nerd with seriously wrong priorities… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-upset-you-terribly/681417.md?page=4)