2. Grave Of The Fireflies
Grave Of The Fireflies remains one of the most powerful and moving war movies ever made. The 1988 Japanese animation rejects sentimentality in favor of something much more profoundly brutal, and the matter-of-fact depictions of two young boys trying to survive the last months of World War II leave a lasting sting. A more heavy-handed approach surely would have lessened the emotional impact, as Grave Of The Fireflies is not (and shouldn't be viewed as) a political film. To call this movie "sad" would be like calling The Beatles a "mildly influential band." This goes so far above and beyond the usual realm of heartache and depression that it will leave you in ruins for days after you finish it. People have claimed Schindler's List is the ultimate in "one-and-done viewing," because watching it twice would be sadism. But Grave Of The Fireflies firmly leapfrogs Schindler in that category. It's beautiful in a way, but it's also crippling to your emotional core.