Need a good cry
October 13, 2024 7:31 PM   Subscribe

I could use a good cry, but it hasn't worked out. Can you suggest a good sad movie (in Netflix ONLY) or other sad media, either on Netflix or available for free somewhere. Or, what the hey, if you can make me cry otherwise.

I don't want to hear about Amazon, Hulu, Paramount, etc. Only free or Netflix.

In case this is helpful, I think "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman might be the saddest song I ever heard. And I've had some various turmoil, upsettedness and unsettledness for about a week. Thanks and I hope you all have a great week.
posted by NotLost to Media & Arts (47 answers total) 21 users marked this as a favorite
 
I’m sorry :(

‘The Night We Met’ by Lord Huron, on repeat, lying down in a dark room, does it for me.

I sincerely hope you get some emotional release and feel better soon. Hugs (if you want them).
posted by Salamander at 7:37 PM on October 13 [3 favorites]


Oh damn, you're in luck: Grave of the Fireflies is on Netflix now.
posted by limeonaire at 7:40 PM on October 13 [14 favorites]


Coming here to say Grave of the Fireflies too. I had to stop watching it 30ish minutes in because it was too sad. I hope to get back to it.
posted by dreamphone at 7:43 PM on October 13 [1 favorite]


Some poems that always do it for me:

"Miss you. Would like to take a walk with you." by Gabrielle Calvocoressi

"The Conditional" by Ada Limón

"Two-Headed Calf" by Laura Gilpin

"Waiting for Happiness" by Nomi Stone

I know you wanted a movie but imagine how much time you'll save if the poems work!
posted by babelfish at 7:47 PM on October 13 [5 favorites]


Is a book ok? If so, The Namesake and also the first story in Interpreter of Maladies (tw if you have sensitivities but I don't want to spoil anything unless you want me to).
Ordinary people (I mean the book but I think the movie could work too. Doubtful it's on Netflix sorry, but I really do mean the book). Bridge to Terabithia (the book). Love that dog. Odder.
posted by bookworm4125 at 7:59 PM on October 13


Make Way For Tomorrow from 1937. Someone else will have to verify if it's available via Netflix. If the Internet Archive ever comes back, it's in there.
posted by Rash at 8:03 PM on October 13


dark waters is on netflix, leaving soon

tonight i can write (the saddest lines) [allpoetry]
posted by HearHere at 8:14 PM on October 13


‘Daughters’ documentary on Netflix had me ugly crying for a long time
posted by you'rerightyou'rerightiknowyou'reright at 8:50 PM on October 13


If you've ever seen Four Weddings and a Funeral, the funeral scene gets me every single time, no full movie required.
posted by warriorqueen at 8:54 PM on October 13 [6 favorites]


Short happy cries for free on YouTube:

Kitbull, a Pixar short.

English for Beginners, a 3 minute commercial.
posted by AlSweigart at 8:56 PM on October 13 [4 favorites]


Okay I'll add a poem: Miss you. Would like to take a walk with you. By Gabrielle Calvocoressi.
posted by BlahLaLa at 8:57 PM on October 13 [1 favorite]


Some other things that are free or on Netflix that have made me cry: This list brought to you by the crying thread I've been keeping since August 2020. Lots of other things to cry about there, but yeah, those are a lot of the free/Netflix ones!
posted by limeonaire at 9:03 PM on October 13 [5 favorites]


Grave of the Fireflies is extremely sad. I found it completely devastating and I'm not sure I could watch it again, now that I know it'll affect me for days after -- but it definitely fits the bill that it'll make you cry.
posted by cnidaria at 9:11 PM on October 13 [3 favorites]


Oooh, also seconding Kitbull!

Kitbull 100% makes me cry every time, but is absolutely happy and sweet at the end rather than devastating. So if you're looking for a good cathartic cry without a sadness hangover, Kitbull might be just the ticket.
posted by cnidaria at 9:14 PM on October 13 [4 favorites]


Cold Missouri Waters about the Mann Gulch Fire is also pretty damn sad, while still feeling tender and human.
posted by cnidaria at 9:30 PM on October 13 [2 favorites]


Slow down. :-) Seriously, if you get truly quiet for a while, maybe several hours for a few days in a row, the tears may just come, on their own. A meditation retreat might be helpful. Preferable to being jolted into crying, IMO.
posted by rabia.elizabeth at 9:40 PM on October 13 [4 favorites]


I broke into tears singing If Not Now by Carrie Newcomber in services this week.
posted by brookeb at 10:03 PM on October 13


My go-to "I need to cry" movie is Steel Magnolias.
posted by erst at 10:22 PM on October 13 [1 favorite]


I'm not a crier. No one in my family cries. I have best friends who I've known for decades who have never seen me cry. But I listened to Finn and the Bell and the tears fell and fell and fell. I'm tearing up as I post this just thinking about it.
posted by mezzanayne at 11:24 PM on October 13 [2 favorites]




The show Hilda, on Netflix is a children’s cartoon. Season 2 Episode 9, “The Deerfox”, is a standalone episode, and you don’t need to watch the rest of the series. It’s an extremely strong tearjerker, but also a gentle, low-stakes show for kids.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 5:17 AM on October 14 [1 favorite]


I Lost My Body, Call Me By Your Name and the Notebook are 3 tonally completely different movies on Netflix but IMO all 3 are excellent and they definitely made me cry
posted by seemoorglass at 6:01 AM on October 14


I don't know why, but Simon and Garfunkel's original Bridge Over Troubled Water can reduce me to tears. It might help you.
posted by Dolley at 6:20 AM on October 14 [2 favorites]


"Refuge" by Steven Wilson (a song about refugees)
posted by CheesesOfBrazil at 6:29 AM on October 14


Jenny Jinya's graphic stories of pets have reduced me to a sobbing pile of feeling frequently. She's on Facebook and other social media. I love her.
posted by LaBellaStella at 7:14 AM on October 14


The only movie that made me cry was Big Fish ("A frustrated son tries to determine the fact from fiction in his dying father's life.").
posted by bruinfan at 7:21 AM on October 14 [1 favorite]


During stressful pandemic times the only way I’ve been able to have a big cry is by laughing at something really funny, and then I suddenly start sobbing. It’s like my body realizes that it’s big feelings time now. Honestly, random clips of Werner Herzog interviews are what do it almost every time.
posted by Maarika at 7:51 AM on October 14 [2 favorites]


I also cried through the last quarter of Crash Landing on You on Netflix, but watching 12+ hours of kdrama to get to that point might be more time than you’re looking to invest (it’s an excellent ride, though).
posted by Maarika at 7:53 AM on October 14 [1 favorite]


this is short, but, it’s the video they use in actual research on crying to consistently make participants cry! thai life insurance commerical: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uaWA2GbcnJU&pp=ygUTdGhhaSBsaWZlIGluc3VyYW5jZQ%3D%3D
posted by lightgray at 8:01 AM on October 14 [3 favorites]


I find “fake” cries that are kickstarted by media are rarely as relieving as “real” cries. I’m not really a journaler, but I will sometimes just make a voice memo diary to myself as if I were talking to a friend, describe my feelings, and that can help my emotions bubble up.
posted by samthemander at 8:18 AM on October 14


"Ronan" by Taylor Swift
wikipedia link
posted by party boots at 8:36 AM on October 14


I think the book most likely to make me cry is A Snowflake in my Hand. CW: cats die, but they're with caring professional trying to keep them alive.

If We Were Vampires, Jason Isbell.
posted by Archer25 at 9:43 AM on October 14


Cinema Paradiso is streaming free on Kanopy, and that movie always makes me cry like a distressed four year old.
posted by pdb at 10:14 AM on October 14 [1 favorite]


Somewhat offbeat, but when I saw the Aretha Franklin documentary Amazing Grace in the theater, I bawled like a baby for a least half the run time. Not because it was sad but because it was so beautiful--there's just something about her voice that grabs me deep inside. I've been immersed in music my entire life and never had a reaction like that. YMMV but it was very cathartic.
posted by gottabefunky at 10:58 AM on October 14


Of course there's always that old standby, the beginning of Up.
posted by gottabefunky at 11:02 AM on October 14 [5 favorites]


Long Ride Home
posted by adekllny at 11:17 AM on October 14


I've posted on this before, but Dancer in the Dark, ohhhhhh my god. Nothing I've watched has ever made me cry like that movie. I mean... I had to change into a dry shirt because I cried so much. Brutal. And it's allegedly free on Tubi right now.
posted by silverstatue at 11:21 AM on October 14 [1 favorite]


I was just coming in to say Dancer in the Dark as the above comment popped up. It may tip you into permanent depression it's just that sad and also beautiful and I watched it when I didn't get a job a wanted more than anything and it did the trick. It's free on Tubi!
posted by *s at 11:25 AM on October 14


The ending of Field of Dreams.
posted by Martha My Dear Prudence at 1:06 PM on October 14 [1 favorite]


I find it virtually impossible to hear Don McLean's Vincent (Starry, Starry Night) without collapsing into heaving sobs. (I genuinely have tears in my eyes just typing about it, and I'm not even listening to the song itself!) For related sorrow, watch the scene from Dr. Who when the Doctor brings Van Gogh to an art gallery to show him the impact his art had on the world after his death. (Honestly, crying for real now.)
posted by paper scissors sock at 1:54 PM on October 14 [2 favorites]


In the beautiful and poignant documentary category: American Symphony
posted by panther of the pyrenees at 3:01 PM on October 14


Fast Car is sad, but the song (and video for) say "Say Something" by A Great Big World with Christina Aguilera is the saddest. It's what I pick when I need some quick catharsis.

Imitation of Life (both the 1934 and 1959 versions) is ideal for forcing a big, ugly cry, if only for the funeral scene. I keep getting Google results that the 1959 version is free on Tubi and elsewhere, but I'm not actually finding it. (The funeral scene is free on YouTube, and I just cried watching it, but I've seen the moving a zillion times so I know the context; I can't tell how powerful it would be for someone who hasn't seen the whole movie.)

(And I know you don't want Amazon, but for anyone who reads this later, the 1934 version is so much better, and its funeral scene will wreck a person, full-on waterworks, and it's just $2.79 on Amazon.)
posted by The Wrong Kind of Cheese at 4:38 PM on October 14 [3 favorites]


Various turmoil? My go-to is this story from Mary-Claire King. DO NOT google her or read the episode description. It'll spoil the end.

Seconding The Notebook. I watched it once and will never watch it again.

Nanette (Netflix) is a comedy special but it's also heartwrenching.

I'm sorry you're having a rough time. I hope you find some catharsis.
posted by meemzi at 5:01 PM on October 14 [1 favorite]


No idea who the original author is, but this story has been copypasted all over the internet for many years and always makes me cry when I stumble across it again:

Everyone in the apartment complex I lived in knew who Ugly was. Ugly was the resident tomcat. Ugly loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage, and shall we say, love. The combination of these things combined with a life spent outside had their effect on Ugly.

To start with, he had only one eye, and where the other should have been was a gaping hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side, his left foot appeared to have been badly broken at one time, and had healed at an unnatural angle, making him look like he was always turning the corner.

His tail has long since been lost, leaving only the smallest stub, which he would constantly jerk and twitch. Ugly would have been a dark gray tabby striped-type, except for the sores covering his head, neck, even his shoulders with thick, yellowing scabs. Every time someone saw Ugly there was the same reaction. "That's one ugly cat!"

All the children were warned not to touch him, the adults threw rocks at him, hosed him down, squirted him when he tried to come in their homes, or shut his paws in the door when he would not leave. Ugly always had the same reaction. If you turned the hose on him, he would stand there, getting soaked until you gave up and quit. If you threw things at him, he would curl his lanky body around your feet in forgiveness. Whenever he spied children, he would come running meowing frantically and bump his head against their hands, begging for their love. If you ever picked him up he would immediately begin suckling on your shirt, earrings, whatever he could find.

One day Ugly shared his love with the neighbors huskies. They did not respond kindly, and Ugly was badly mauled. From my apartment I could hear his screams, and I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was laying, it was apparent Ugly's sad life was almost at an end.

Ugly lay in a wet circle, his back legs and lower back twisted grossly out of shape, a gaping tear in the white strip of fur that ran down his front. As I picked him up and tried to carry him home I could hear him wheezing and gasping, and could feel him struggling. I must be hurting him terribly I thought. Then I felt a familiar tugging, sucking sensation on my ear- Ugly, in so much pain, suffering and obviously dying was trying to suckle my ear. I pulled him closer to me, and he bumped the palm of my hand with his head, then he turned his one golden eye towards me, and I could hear the distinct sound of purring. Even in the greatest pain, that ugly battled-scarred cat was asking only for a little affection, perhaps some compassion.

At that moment I thought Ugly was the most beautiful, loving creature I had ever seen. Never once did he try to bite or scratch me, or even try to get away from me, or struggle in any way. Ugly just looked up at me completely trusting in me to relieve his pain.

Ugly died in my arms before I could get inside, but I sat and held him for a long time afterward, thinking about how one scarred, deformed little stray could so alter my opinion about what it means to have true pureness of spirit, to love so totally and truly. Ugly taught me more about giving and compassion than a thousand books, lectures, or talk show specials ever could, and for that I will always be thankful.

He had been scarred on the outside, but I was scarred on the inside, and it was time for me to move on and learn to love truly and deeply. To give my total to those I cared for.

Many people want to be richer, more successful, well liked, or beautiful, but for me, I will always try to be "Ugly".
posted by Jacqueline at 5:14 PM on October 14 [3 favorites]


For sad songs, "Who Knew" by P!nk
posted by Jacqueline at 5:16 PM on October 14


This is a very different suggestion, but I would suggest cutting some onions. Crying that way still feels like catharsis to me even if it comes from a different form of chemicals.
posted by kserra at 8:09 PM on October 14 [1 favorite]


"Kilkelly" by Rowena Taheny from the album Irish Roses: Women of Celtic Song.
The song was written by Peter Jones, and is based on a series of letters sent between family members in Ireland and the United States beginning in 1860.
The accounts of births, deaths, joy and sadness are underscored by the longing for home at a time when the only travel was by ship and letters were precious.
posted by TrishaU at 4:24 AM on October 15


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