# Recommend me a depressing movie. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2005, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345 "2005-01-18T10:40:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![JXJohns](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jxjohns/32/469_2.png) [@JXJohns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JXJohns)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/61 "2005-01-18T20:35:04Z")
I thought that The Power of One was quite depressing. Even the ending did not make up for the life of crap that the lead character PK had to live. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/62 "2005-01-18T20:43:02Z")
Some that haven’t been mentioned yet: \*\* Amores Perros (Mexican) In the Company of Men In the Name of the Father Kids Naked (British) Night On Earth (Final Chapter) Romper Stomper (Australian) This Boy’s Life \*\* ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/63 "2005-01-18T20:53:54Z")
Anyone who thought _American Me_ was a rollicking good time just has to be a heartless bastard. As I am sure none of you people are heartless bastards, I must conclude that none of you have seen it. That, or else you’re repressing the memory, for which I can hardly blame you. ---
**Author:** ![RevCo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@RevCo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RevCo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/64 "2005-01-18T21:16:17Z")
I certainly like old movies and would recommend [All Mine to Give](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050112/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9QWxsIG1pbmUgdG8gZ2l2ZXxodG1sPTF8bm09b24_;fc=1;ft=1). I don’t know how to describe it without giving too much away, but it’s a sad Christmas type movie. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/65 "2005-01-18T21:18:09Z")
Let me second **Welcome to the Dollhouse**. All the more depressing for being so realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/66 "2005-01-18T21:44:06Z")
You don’t have to be gay to be horrifically depressed by [Bent](http://imdb.com/title/tt0118698/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9YmVudHxodG1sPTF8bm09b24_;fc=1;ft=1;fm=1), a drama adapted from the stage about three gay men during the Holocaust. Not even Mick Jagger in campy drag can add a smile. I thought the movie _What Dreams May Come_ was horrifically depressing. (When Max von Sydow is your comic relief there’s no point even leaving the cap off the Prozac bottle.) ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/67 "2005-01-18T21:47:43Z")
I’ll vote for [The Field](http://imdb.com/title/tt0099566/). Gods, that one almost made me want to kill myself. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/68 "2005-01-18T21:58:02Z")
I think the OP nailed the two most depressing ones possible. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/69 "2005-01-18T22:02:02Z")
Isn’t **Where the Red Fern Grows** where The dog or someboy critical dies in the end? My MIL bought it for the kids ( under 6 years of age to watch) and I just remember reading the book and being very sad at the end, but cannot remember why. ---
**Author:** ![Typically\_Sunday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Typically\_Sunday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typically_Sunday)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/70 "2005-01-18T22:58:01Z")
**The Talented Mr. Ripley** always depresses the hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Gr8Kat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gr8kat/32/18668_2.png) [@Gr8Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gr8Kat)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/71 "2005-01-18T23:56:02Z")
> [@Tentacle Monster](#): > > _Monster’s Ball_. Without a doubt. Oh, without a doubt. I came in here to recommend this movie because I sobbed my head off all through it. I mean, **Grave of the Fireflies** is sad, but it saves it’s biggest punch for the last 10 or 20 minutes. But **Monster’s Ball** punishes you practically from the beginning to the end. **Once Were Warriors** is powerful, brutal and shocking, and I seem to recall it leaving me feeling depressed for several days, but I’m not sure about uncontrolled sobbing. I’m thinking by the final blow I was just way too numb to cry. Still, all three movies assault the senses and blugeon to death any happy thoughts you may have once had. Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/72 "2005-01-19T00:09:26Z")
_Schindler’s List_ Okay, what do I win? For an encore: _The Pianist_ _Spartacus_ _Braveheart_ _Das Boot_ _Dangerous Liaisons_ _Lawrence of Arabia_ _Romeo and Juliet_ ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/73 "2005-01-19T01:39:48Z")
[Jude](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116722/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9anVkZXxodG1sPTF8bm09b24_;fc=3;ft=141;fm=1) ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/74 "2005-01-19T01:51:36Z")
Heh, I was just gonna mention _Jude_. 😛 Two more: _Voyager_, starring Sam Shepard and Julie Delphy, and directed by Volker Schlondorff (_The Tin Drum_). Based on the novel _Homo Faber_ by Max Frisch. With the hopeless, existential finality of its closing scene, this is one of the most depressing movies I’ve ever seen. (Not on DVD) _Au Revoir Les Enfants_, directed by Louis Malle. Not too bad until the final moments which will have you bawling like a little baby if you’re any heart. ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/75 "2005-01-19T01:58:07Z")
Addendum: _Au Revoir Les Enfants_ is not on DVD either. One more: _Before the Rain_, starring Rade Serbedzija and the late Katrin Cartlidge, directed by Milcho Manchevski. Religious strife in Macedonia = very depressing. Interesting note: the storyline is structured like the contemporaneous _Pulp Fiction_. (Alas, this also is not on DVD.) ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/76 "2005-01-19T02:49:26Z")
I also recommend **Once Were Warriors** ; got it on DVD and have trouble getting through it (despite how great it is). Two I haven’t seen listed yet: **Margaret’s Museum** : depressing life of a young woman in a 1940’s coal town. Even when you see the tragedy coming, it hurts. Might be harder to find- Canadian film. **Brazil** : Terry Gilliam’s most dark and depressing comedy. Great visuals & bizarre concepts. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/77 "2005-01-19T03:13:23Z")
One more: **[The Navigator](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095709/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9TmF2aWdhdG9yfGh0bWw9MXxubT1vbg__;fc=2;ft=11;fm=1)**, about a peasant village’s reaction to the Black Death. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/78 "2005-01-19T03:30:41Z")
_On the Beach_ ---
**Author:** ![lost\_in\_the\_post](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@lost\_in\_the\_post](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost_in_the_post)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/79 "2005-01-19T04:51:24Z")
> [@manx](#): > > make us cry and cry … something reasonably common If you have beloved pets, then Gates of Heaven … that makes some pet lovers sob. (Gates of Heaven, not to be confused with Heaven’s Gate) Might not be common enough, though; at a Blockbuster, it might be filed in the documentary or artsy section. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345/80 "2005-01-19T05:04:03Z")
Oh yeah, I just thought of “In the Bedroom”. Brutal. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-me-a-depressing-movie/285345.md?page=5)