Hello there and welcome to Thursday Movie Picks a weekly series where you share three movie picks each Thursday. The rules are simple simple: Each week there is a topic for you to create a list of three movies. Your picks can either be favourites/best, worst, hidden gems, or if you're up to it one of each.For further details visit the series main page here.
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This week's Thursday Movie Picks is Movies with Devastating Crushing Endings that Makes You Want to Weep
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Well the theme today is quite a mouth full. I'm sure you've watched such movies before; ones that leaves you crushed, weeping for the characters or humanity and just emotionally drained. So share and we can all cry together. I also can't help myself and pick five instead of three; it's ok just get more tissues. As always in random order:
In My Father's Den (2004)
I mentioned this movie in TMP#22 and I'm picking it again this week. The gist of the story is a war photographer comes home when his father dies to finally put the family secret, the one that caused him to run away from home as a teenager, behind him. However, he soon becomes prime suspect in a teenage girl's disappearance and the ending is just devastating for the characters, especially against the backdrop of the beautiful New Zealand landscape.
The Devil's Backbone (2001)
Picked this movie way back for the Halloween Edition TMP#16. The gist of the movie is it is near the end of the Spanish Civil War and an orphanage is haunted by a ghost that the children believe was a former occupant who disappeared. While the haunting was initially scary, this is more than just a ghost movie. It's about greed, good and evil, kindness, and bravery. I know that Pan's Labyrinth is probably everyone's favourite Guillermo del Toro movie, but I can't really choose. I love both. This movie opens and ends with this quote: "What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again? An instant of pain, perhaps. Something dead which still seems to be alive. An emotion suspended in time. Like a blurred photograph. Like an insect trapped in amber." While the ending hints at some hope, in the larger context of things it is still heart wrenching.
Lilya-4-Ever (2002)
In short it's about a young teen girl who is a victim of an underground sex trade. So yeah it is very bleak and depressing. I Dreamed A Dream could be the theme song for this except without that romantic summer Fantine sings about; just more of the tigers.
The Mist (2007)
I've also picked this movie before for the very first TMP ever. But what can I do, The Mist is perfect for today's theme. I'll try to be extremely vague and you won't understand unless you've seen the movie: at the end a main character does an act of self sacrifice until we see the larger picture. It is a huge blow. The character collapses and you can't help but feel extremely sick too. I'm not sure how anyone can recover after such a thing.
Lord of the Flies (1990)
I know the 1963 movie is the more famous adaptation but I did not like it. I grew up seeing this version and while I haven't seen this in a long time, I like it a lot better. Once again if you are not familiar with the story at all you will not likely be spoiled. Even in the book it has always the scene at the end when the kids run out of the jungle into the beach and meets a military man(pilot?) that stuck with me. It's a big moment for reasons I don't want to spoil. In the movie I remember the look the man gives, from puzzlement to some sort of realisation as Ralph weeps and I want to cry too.
So that's it...my picks. What three movies made your list today?
In My Father's Den (2004)
I mentioned this movie in TMP#22 and I'm picking it again this week. The gist of the story is a war photographer comes home when his father dies to finally put the family secret, the one that caused him to run away from home as a teenager, behind him. However, he soon becomes prime suspect in a teenage girl's disappearance and the ending is just devastating for the characters, especially against the backdrop of the beautiful New Zealand landscape.
The Devil's Backbone (2001)
Picked this movie way back for the Halloween Edition TMP#16. The gist of the movie is it is near the end of the Spanish Civil War and an orphanage is haunted by a ghost that the children believe was a former occupant who disappeared. While the haunting was initially scary, this is more than just a ghost movie. It's about greed, good and evil, kindness, and bravery. I know that Pan's Labyrinth is probably everyone's favourite Guillermo del Toro movie, but I can't really choose. I love both. This movie opens and ends with this quote: "What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again? An instant of pain, perhaps. Something dead which still seems to be alive. An emotion suspended in time. Like a blurred photograph. Like an insect trapped in amber." While the ending hints at some hope, in the larger context of things it is still heart wrenching.
Lilya-4-Ever (2002)
In short it's about a young teen girl who is a victim of an underground sex trade. So yeah it is very bleak and depressing. I Dreamed A Dream could be the theme song for this except without that romantic summer Fantine sings about; just more of the tigers.
The Mist (2007)
I've also picked this movie before for the very first TMP ever. But what can I do, The Mist is perfect for today's theme. I'll try to be extremely vague and you won't understand unless you've seen the movie: at the end a main character does an act of self sacrifice until we see the larger picture. It is a huge blow. The character collapses and you can't help but feel extremely sick too. I'm not sure how anyone can recover after such a thing.
Lord of the Flies (1990)
I know the 1963 movie is the more famous adaptation but I did not like it. I grew up seeing this version and while I haven't seen this in a long time, I like it a lot better. Once again if you are not familiar with the story at all you will not likely be spoiled. Even in the book it has always the scene at the end when the kids run out of the jungle into the beach and meets a military man(pilot?) that stuck with me. It's a big moment for reasons I don't want to spoil. In the movie I remember the look the man gives, from puzzlement to some sort of realisation as Ralph weeps and I want to cry too.
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So that's it...my picks. What three movies made your list today?
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Check out some of my random Thursday Movie Picks
Thursday Movie Picks #21: Movies Adapted from a Play (non-Shakespeare and non-musical)
Thursday Movie Picks #24: Movies Driven Entirely by People Talking
Thursday Movie Picks #23: Coming of Age Movies
Thursday Movie Picks #3: Movies set in a Mental Institution
Thursday Movie Picks #50: All in the Family Edition: Sibling Relationships (Biologically Related)
Thursday Movie Picks #21: Movies Adapted from a Play (non-Shakespeare and non-musical)
Thursday Movie Picks #24: Movies Driven Entirely by People Talking
Thursday Movie Picks #23: Coming of Age Movies
Thursday Movie Picks #3: Movies set in a Mental Institution
Thursday Movie Picks #50: All in the Family Edition: Sibling Relationships (Biologically Related)
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I've read so much about Lilya-4-ever that I was depressed just reading the story. I don't understand why those films are made or why people watch them over and over. The others I haven't seen but heard of. I've not seen Lord of the Flies but have read it. It's a great book but agree there are several points in the story where you despair!
ReplyDeleteLilya-4-Ever is definitely not a movie I can see more than once. Like you said it is depressing. I don't know about about the other movies that you speak of but I think there's a reason this movie was well reviewed; it handles the dark theme well and if I remember correctly without any nudity despite the plot. Yes the movie is bleak, depressing and horrifying because that life and world is horrifying and that is probably why this story is told because there are people that don't get it.
DeleteThese are some interesting picks. I have not heard of some of them but will mark them on my list
ReplyDeleteGot me pretty good, this week. I've only seen The Mist. Guess I've got work to do.
ReplyDeleteSo far this is the hardest theme for Thurday Movie Picks. As for your picks, I only know The Mist and I have it in mine, too. That's a very heart-wrenching ending.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I think The Mist is more depressing than making you want to weep.
ReplyDeleteI actually haven't seen 3 of your picks. I also chose The Mist, and I hated Lord of the Flies, so I was happy when it was over. lol
ReplyDeleteYou hated the book or movie?
DeleteYeah, I've heard Lilya 4-Ever is just the most soul-crushing thing ever. I LOVE The Devil's Backbone, SO GOOD. Didn't make me cry though. Just made me feel bad.
ReplyDeleteThe doctor and quote didn't get you? It got me, plus with the whole orphans in the middle of a war which could be a "out of the frying pan and into the fire" scenario for those boys.
DeleteYou've given us so much leeway this week with a topic that opens it up to pretty much every genre so I'm not at all surprised that I have not seen a single one of your picks. I will look into them though.
ReplyDeleteYou haven't? Not one? Get on to them. :)
DeleteGreat picks! The Devil's Backbone is heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteIt is. It is.
DeleteI have not seen a one of these. Need to get it!
ReplyDelete