10 Movies That Totally Destroyed You

Never underestimate the power of films to make you feel. They can be the light that leads you out of the darkest fog or they can dump you in one; they can make you profound love and poignant loss; they can embolden you and knock you down. And in every case, those extremes tend to be the ones that you'll talk about the most.

Just as you remember the harshest heart-break and the densest grief, the films that leave gaping emotional wounds tend to be the most memorable. You might not want to watch them more than once, but there ought to be special praise reserved for the films that manage to leave you broken in pieces. Sometimes, all that takes is a single scene...

10. Forrest Gump

Some will say that the cynical way Forrest Gump manipulates its audience with sentimentality and melodrama should preclude it from consideration alongside some of the more raw films here, but that would be a disservice. Discounting what Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks achieve in terms of emotionally authentic scenes DESPITE that sugary agenda is nothing short of incredible.

You should know from the outset that things aren't necessarily going to go well, considering Gump's story is essentially a potted American history (and that's not all sunshine and buttercups), that he will lose loved ones and that there will be attempts to make you feel sad. And yet, awareness doesn't help at all when Forrest meets his son and asks Jenny whether he's smart or whether he's like him.

In that one beautiful, devastating moment, you come to realise that despite his defiance of bullies and his cheerful outlook that he KNOWS what he is. That he wouldn't wish his "condition" on anyone else and that absolutely winds you.