There are movies that are sad, and then there are these movies. Films that can make you weep like a baby just by thinking of that one scene that reduced you to a crumbling mess the first time you saw it. Films that you can't quite shake, even after having weeks to process your emotions. These are the movies that take full advantage of the intrinsic ability of cinema to make us feel something in an incredibly intense way. All the movies on this list have one thing in common; they have at least one scene that was so heartbreakingly sad, you'll never be able to forget it. You forbid your friends from even mentioning it, because the idea of reliving the emotions you went through when you first watched are almost too much to handle. You'd think that maybe, just maybe, they could go easy on us once in a while - we're only human right? But no, they deal with loss, grief, pain, regret - emotions that we can all relate to. And while there are some movies that are just generally very sad from start to finish, there are plenty of others that just have one scene in the film that is so tragic that it stands out amongst all the others. These are the saddest individual moments in movies, and be advised: there are definitely some spoilers floating around in here.
20. Selma's Execution - Dancer In The Dark
Dancer in the Dark is emotionally exhausting from start to finish - by the time the film reaches its devastating conclusion, you basically don't have any tears left. It's the story of an Eastern European woman who is going blind because of a degenerative disorder which she has passed down to her young son. Whenever her life gets too depressing or boring, she escapes into a world of daydreams, where life is a very stark version of a Hollywood musical and she is the star. Through a series of unfortunate events she is charged with murder, but refuses to hire a lawyer to defend her, opting instead to save her money for an operation that will save her son's sight. She faces the death penalty, and as she is led into the execution chamber, she begins to sing her final song. The last few lines are abruptly and shockingly cut short as she is hanged, and despite the fact that we know she was relieved that her son's surgery worked, it packs an emotional wallop that shakes audiences to the core.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
