I know I'm a softie and I'll tell you why....
November 30th 2006 18:41
There are a few films I saw when I was growing up that made me excessively sad and would end up in me blubbering all over the settee, much to my sister's mirth. She never cried at films or if she did, she hid in a small cupboard somewhere so that I never knew. I can understand why I bawled in some of them and others perplex me, as they were pretty cheesy. I can only put it down to being a sensitive young child (SYC). Some of them I have mentioned before on other posts, Hi JohnDoe….
Here's a handful of them (I don't want to divulge all my insecurities yet..) Warning...spoilers ahead...
The Champ - This film fits in the cheesy section. The most poignant love-triangle of all - a father, his son, and the woman who came between them. Then the death of the father. I blubbered and blubbered. If I think too long about the film, tears could probably come soon...
Watership Down - I just read the review on IMDB and I'll share it with you:
'Based upon Richard Adam's novel of the same title, this animated feature delves into the surprisingly violent world of a warren of rabbits as they seek to establish a new colony free of tyranny and human intervention. Frightening and bloody in some scenes. Not recommended for young children.' Hmm, so after that last line, I'm wondering why the hell did I see it as a child? Those little rabbits are still etched in my memory and I still shudder and cry when I hear Bright Eyes.
ET – Elliot’s dilemma. Should he help ET go home where he wants to be? If he does, he’ll lose a friend. While millions of kids were gushing over how cute ET was, I was crying because he wasn’t at home with his family. As for the typical Hollywood-ending, I’d stopped crying by then and was annoyed at the overkill by the cops. Why couldn’t they just let him go quietly?
The Elephant Man – I’ve only seen this film once and still feel the same way I did when I was a child. Society’s treatment of a Merrick due to a disfiguring congenital disease will always stand out in my mind as both an adult and child. It leads me to the perpetual question of why society alienates and belittles those people that are ‘different’. I have never been able to understand this phenomena. Yes, we as humans might notice differences but we have control over how we react to those differences. Belittling and teasing is the cruel option.
Even the ‘Tagline: I am not an animal! I am a human being! I...am...a man!‘ upsets me. And upsets is an understatement.
Lastly, Roots. This mini-series was based-on-a-true story tale that spooled over 12 hours and six nights, the story of "an American family," albeit one that began captured in Africa in 1750, then sold into slavery in the U.S. colonies. Kunta Kinte is abducted from his African village, sold into slavery, and taken to America. He makes several escape attempts until he is finally caught and maimed. His maiming consisted of his toes being cut off so that he couldn’t walk. As a child I could not understand how having no toes meant that you couldn’t walk. I even tried tucking my toes underneath my feet to understand the difference. Again as in The Elephant Man, I detested the alienation, mockery and torture of a human being. I still feel a jolt when I think of that particular scene.
Well, those are the main few films that made me cry as a child as well as an adult. I’m all ears if you’d like to share yours...
Here's a handful of them (I don't want to divulge all my insecurities yet..) Warning...spoilers ahead...
The Champ - This film fits in the cheesy section. The most poignant love-triangle of all - a father, his son, and the woman who came between them. Then the death of the father. I blubbered and blubbered. If I think too long about the film, tears could probably come soon...
Watership Down - I just read the review on IMDB and I'll share it with you:
'Based upon Richard Adam's novel of the same title, this animated feature delves into the surprisingly violent world of a warren of rabbits as they seek to establish a new colony free of tyranny and human intervention. Frightening and bloody in some scenes. Not recommended for young children.' Hmm, so after that last line, I'm wondering why the hell did I see it as a child? Those little rabbits are still etched in my memory and I still shudder and cry when I hear Bright Eyes.
ET – Elliot’s dilemma. Should he help ET go home where he wants to be? If he does, he’ll lose a friend. While millions of kids were gushing over how cute ET was, I was crying because he wasn’t at home with his family. As for the typical Hollywood-ending, I’d stopped crying by then and was annoyed at the overkill by the cops. Why couldn’t they just let him go quietly?
The Elephant Man – I’ve only seen this film once and still feel the same way I did when I was a child. Society’s treatment of a Merrick due to a disfiguring congenital disease will always stand out in my mind as both an adult and child. It leads me to the perpetual question of why society alienates and belittles those people that are ‘different’. I have never been able to understand this phenomena. Yes, we as humans might notice differences but we have control over how we react to those differences. Belittling and teasing is the cruel option.
Even the ‘Tagline: I am not an animal! I am a human being! I...am...a man!‘ upsets me. And upsets is an understatement.
Lastly, Roots. This mini-series was based-on-a-true story tale that spooled over 12 hours and six nights, the story of "an American family," albeit one that began captured in Africa in 1750, then sold into slavery in the U.S. colonies. Kunta Kinte is abducted from his African village, sold into slavery, and taken to America. He makes several escape attempts until he is finally caught and maimed. His maiming consisted of his toes being cut off so that he couldn’t walk. As a child I could not understand how having no toes meant that you couldn’t walk. I even tried tucking my toes underneath my feet to understand the difference. Again as in The Elephant Man, I detested the alienation, mockery and torture of a human being. I still feel a jolt when I think of that particular scene.
Well, those are the main few films that made me cry as a child as well as an adult. I’m all ears if you’d like to share yours...
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Comment by Stanley
as an aside my dad is a man's man and he would never cry at something such as film but he once got very emotional watching the green mile during john coffey's execution. needless, to say it was a shock.
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Thanks for your comments. Yes, I've cried in some docos too, quite a few really. The Green Mile must be a sad film if it made your dad cry and he doesn't usually get emotional from films. That must've been quite shock for you to see.
Tracy