A Glean movie guide
Movies Guaranteed to Make You Cry
Keep the tissues close.
From devastating tragedies to poignant family dramas, these films are built for a good cry.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Grave of the Fireflies
A devastating look at two siblings struggling for survival in war-torn Japan that is widely considered a masterpiece.
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 grappling with an unspeakable past tragedy and the weight of grief.
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
Hachi: A Dog's Tale
The true story of a dog’s unwavering loyalty that will break even the toughest hearts.
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.
- 04
The Father
A disorienting and deeply moving portrayal of a man’s losing battle with dementia and its impact on his daughter.
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.
- 05
Blue Valentine
A brutally honest juxtaposition of a couple's hopeful beginning and the painful dissolution of their marriage.
Dean and Cindy live a quiet life in a modest neighborhood. They appear to have the world at their feet at the outset of the relationship. However, his lack of ambition and her retreat into self-absorption cause potentially irreversible cracks in their marriage.
- 06
Aftersun
A subtle, haunting reflection on memory and the hidden struggles of a father-daughter relationship.
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.
- 07
The Notebook
An enduring romance that captures the beauty and heartbreak of a lifelong bond facing the trials of aging.
An epic love story centered around an older man who reads aloud to a woman with Alzheimer's. From a faded notebook, the old man's words bring to life the story about a couple who is separated by World War II, and is then passionately reunited, seven years later, after they have taken different paths.
- 08
Schindler's List
A powerful historical epic that finds profound humanity and sacrifice 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.
- 09
Coco
A vibrant animated journey that explores the importance of family legacy and the pain of being forgotten.
Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.
- 10
The Green Mile
A supernatural prison drama centered on an innocent man and the heavy emotional toll of injustice.
A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.