A Glean movie guide
Intense Tearjerkers
Keep the tissues close.
Brace yourself for these emotionally charged films that leave a lasting impact.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Grave of the Fireflies
A devastating look at survival that is widely considered one of the saddest films ever made.
In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.
- 02
Manchester by the Sea
A raw and unflinching exploration of a man paralyzed by the weight of a past tragedy.
After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised.
- 03
The Father
A disorienting and deeply moving portrayal of a man’s losing battle with his own mind.
A man refuses all assistance from his daughter as he ages and, as he tries to make sense of his changing circumstances, he begins to doubt his loved ones, his own mind and even the fabric of his reality.
- 04
Schindler's List
A monumental historical drama that finds profound humanity amidst the horrors of the Holocaust.
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
- 05
Room
An intense, claustrophobic journey of a mother and son reclaiming their lives after years of captivity.
Held captive for 7 years in an enclosed space, a woman and her young son finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time.
- 06
Dancer in the Dark
A relentless and stylized tragedy about a mother’s desperate sacrifices for her son.
Selma, a Czech immigrant on the verge of blindness, struggles to make ends meet for herself and her son, who has inherited the same genetic disorder and will suffer the same fate without an expensive operation. When life gets too difficult, Selma learns to cope through her love of musicals, dreaming up little numbers to the rhythmic beats of her surroundings.
- 07
Marriage Story
A piercingly honest look at the messy, high-conflict reality of a family falling apart.
A stage director and an actress struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal extremes.
- 08
Aftersun
A quiet but powerful reflection on the hidden pain of a parent seen through a daughter's memories.
Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories fill the gaps between camcorder footages as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the troubled man she didn't.
- 09
Lion
An incredible true story of a lost son’s high-stakes search for his original home.
A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
- 10
Hachi: A Dog's Tale
A simple yet overwhelmingly emotional true story about the unbreakable bond between a man and his dog.
Professor Wilson discovers a lost Akita puppy on his way home. Despite objections from his wife, Hachi endears himself to the family and grows to be Parker's loyal companion. As their bond grows deeper, a beautiful relationship unfolds.