Cry Me A River: My Favorite Tearjerker Scenes

When someone dies in a movie (like Bambi's mom, or whoever Judy ann Santos' onscreen mom is) we are expected to feel the protagonists sullen emotions, in other words, we are supposed to cry. Sometimes it works and we bawl our eyes out. Sometimes it looks forced and pathetic and we end up laughing instead.

I asked a few people in the office and went to their workstations to give me examples of movies with the best tearjerking scenes. After staring at me like a registered sex offender, they gave me their suggestions. I put some of those which I thought were right on and didn't include the ones I didn't like. Here are some, IMO, that made it right (because I'm perfect and can do no wrong).

"The Green Mile" : John Coffy's Execution



The irreversible decision on John Coffy's execution raised the emotional level among the guards in The Green Mile. Knowing that Coffy was innocent of all charges and that he harbored no ill feelings towards his accusers, the guards were bound by their apalling duty to fry him to a crisp.


"Ghost" : The Unchained Melody

Sam visits Molly everyday but she doesn't know it. Since his death Molly has been miserable. Sam's unusual friendship with psychic Oda May Brown (Whoopi Goldberg)enables her to serve as as a bridge for them to meet again and communicate. Through Oda's body, Sam touches Molly (In an eerily homoerotic moment) and dances with her to the tune that was mercilessly overplayed in radios accross the world after the movie came out.



"Titanic" : "I'll Never Let Go, Jack"

Jack and Rose meet in a boat. Rose (Kate Winslet) finally learns to let go of his passionate love Jack (Leo DiCaprio) while they are floating on a wooden door (or was it a closet) by prying her hands out of his and letting his stiff corpse sink into the depths of the Atlantic. Well, yes it was heartbreaking back then...









"Forrest Gump" : "You're His Father, Forrest"

Forrest Gump relates his lifes story to every stranger who sits on the same bench as he is waiting for the next bus to Jenny's house. He then finds out Jenny lives a few blocks away. He then find Jenny and that she has a kid. "His name is Forrest. I named him after his Father". The facial expression on Forrest (courtesy of the masterful Tom Hanks) once he finds out he is actually looking at his offspring triggers heart flutters for new dads and women everywhere.




"My Sassy Girl" : "I'm Sorry"


My Sassy Girl is the kind of movie that a lot of people have seen
but you wouldn't know if somebody has seen it until you talk to them. It has kind of been an open secret in social circles everywhere. It is now going to be released dubbed in Tagalog this month, as if they were saying "Hey, lets take a really good movie that everyone loves and ruin it, and make money doing it".

The scene starts off with the girl (Jun Ji Hyun) and Gyun Woo (Cha Tae Hyun) sitting on top of a mountain as they are about to break up. She tells Gyun Woo to go climb a hill on the other side to see if he can hear her shout over to him. She's a pain, but he always obliges. Like all romantic fools he climbs over and waves to her. The girl then shouts "Im Sorry. Im just a hopeless girl". Guys turn into saps when they watch this part.



"The Lord of The Rings The Return of The King" : "Go Home, Sam"

In the previous movies we see Frodo and Sam fall into cliffs, run into orcs, wade into swamps and deal with the whiny but treacherous Gollum, but it is in this scene where we first see Frodo's confused mind reach breaking point and lose trust in the man who promised to protect him with his life. Setting all homoerotic innuendo's aside, this is a break up that can rival and even surpass any romance drama flick.



"Failan" : "...But You are the Kindest of All"


If there was a movie designed to turn hardened criminals and gangsters into girly-crying saps, it's Failan.

Kang -Jae is a gangster, and a bad one at that. Poor and disrespected by his younger peers, he looked into marrying a Chinese immigrant for money, even if they were not to meet. In exchange for his name on a marriage certificate, Failan lives the rest of her short life in Korea being grateful to the man who decided to sell his name for her convenience in getting a job.

Before Failan died. He writes Kang-jae a letter thanking him for everything. He reads it after he claims her body. He is afer all her husband. She expresses in the letter, "Everybody has been kind, but you are the kindest of all.", referring to the husband she had never met. This scene where Kang-Jae breaks down shows Choi Min Shik in his finest.



"I Am Sam" : "In your Heart of Hearts..."


Other than people dying, or children hurting, nothing else makes us cry in movies than...retarded people.

Sam's courtoom scenes are some of Sean Penn's best work. The introduction of acting prodigy Dakota Fanning also elevated this movie into the ranks of the top dramas of recent years. The best and most dramatic scene would be the very last where Lucy scores her first goal and Sam, who also happens to be the referee grabs Lucy and runs around the field embracing his little champ.



"Transformers, The Movie" : "...The Wounds Are Fatal"


If you weren't a 9 year old during the time of The Transformers, you wouldn't understand.
Optimus Prime as not only a leader. He WAS the Transformers. Kids like myself didn't know what to expect what was to happen now that Prime was dead less than halfway through the movie. Then, his spirit of leadership was passed on to Hot Rod through the Matrix, and became Rodimus Prime.







"The Lord of The Rings; The Return of The King" : "You Bow to No One".

Ok so I made two entries coming from the same movie. There is a reason. This the once scene where I felt my eyes well up and I had to wipe out the tears. The thought of the entire world bowing dow to the most insignificant creatures not because of what they are but for what they did, can inspire anyone at any level. In the back of your mind you go, "Hobbits Rock!"