A Glean movie guide
The Ultimate Cry Guide
Grab the tissues.
From quiet melancholia to devastating heartbreak, these films are guaranteed to move you.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Grave of the Fireflies
A devastating and unflinching look at the human cost of war through the eyes of two siblings.
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, powerful exploration of a man living with the weight of an unbearable past.
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
Schindler's List
A monumental testament to the human spirit and the tragedy 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.
- 04
Aftersun
A hauntingly beautiful reflection on memory and the hidden struggles of a parent.
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.
- 05
Hachi: A Dog's Tale
A simple, heart-wrenching story of a dog’s unwavering loyalty that will break even the toughest viewers.
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.
- 06
Coco
A vibrant celebration of family legacy that builds to one of the most moving climaxes in animation.
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.
- 07
Past Lives
A poetic meditation on the 'what ifs' of life and the quiet pain of divergent paths.
After decades apart, childhood friends Nora and Hae Sung are reunited in New York for one fateful weekend as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life.
- 08
Brokeback Mountain
A sweeping, tragic romance about a love that spans decades but remains tragically out of reach.
In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they get married and start families of their own.
- 09
The Green Mile
A supernatural drama that finds profound humanity and heartbreak on death row.
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.
- 10
Up
Famous for an opening sequence that captures a lifetime of love and loss in just a few minutes.
Carl Fredricksen spent his entire life dreaming of exploring the globe and experiencing life to its fullest. But at age 78, life seems to have passed him by, until a twist of fate (and a persistent 8-year old Wilderness Explorer named Russell) gives him a new lease on life.