Five unexpected movies I'm not ashamed to say "made me cry."
I think we forget the importance of how a movie makes us feel during the process of analysis.
The caliber of a film is initiated not only by visual intrigue, technical talents, acting believability, twists, wit, inspiring story or the director's ability to communicate with the audience, but also the understated gut reaction. We say a movie is amazing and a must-see, but after a couple of weeks and everyone...
everyone is talking about how much they loved or hated it, the personal experience you feel with a movie is cheapened. In order to keep your passion for the film, you must come up with reasons why you initially loved it. If you can't come to a conclusion, the emotions the movie made you feel get lost. Despite this, we each have our own personal reasons for why we
relate to a film. There is usually an intimate pattern that can be traced apart from technical gifts in a movie. Sometimes they are on a surface level, such as loving anything that comes out of your home state. Other times its on a deeper level, like a fear or past experience.
There are only five movies/TV shows where I've cried.
#1 I Am Sam: the story of a mentally challenged man fighting for custody of his intelligent 8 year old daughter.
#2 Lilo and Stitch: a Disney cartoon about a destructive alien created in a lab who crashes on earth and is incidentally adopted by a young girl as her pet.
#3 Pieces of April: a rebellious daughter trying to make amends with her faithless family by making them Thanksgiving dinner in her run down apartment.
#4 Waiting for Superman: a documentary about children in poor education systems depending on lotteries to get into esteemed Jr. High and High Schools.
#5 The X Factor: a reality singing competition TV show with no age limit for the contestants.
Sound like an odd collection of movies/tv shows to cry at? The thing those moments all have in common is futility.
#1 I Am Sam
When I teared up at
I Am Sam, the lawyers accused Sam and each character witness of being bad parents as well. They brought up every time they themselves screwed up with their child. It led to the argument that their testimonies were invalid, because
they were failures as parents. Being parents racked with guilt and insecurities, a large part of them believed them. Whenever they attempted to explain themselves the lawyers would coldly cut them off, "Just answer the question. Did you or did you not do this?" They slowly gulped, "...yes..." There was nothing they could say or do. "No further questions, your honor."
#2 Lilo and Stitch
Oddly enough, I am not the only one that has included
Lilo and Stitch in my limited "crying" list. Stitch, a destructive but cuddly koala-bear-like alien, leaves his owner, young Lilo, after she solemnly reveals, "I know why you break things and push me. I hear you cry at night. Is it because you miss your family?" Suddenly, Stitch feels vulnerable. Having been created out of test tubes and chemicals merely a few weeks ago and grown to full maturity, he is confused. He decides he doesn't belong there and leaves her to search for his family... but he realizes he
has no one. He doesn't have a family. His creator looks on and thinks aloud, "What must it be like to not even have memories to visit in the middle of the night?" Stitch looks around trying to find his community, his home, someone to relate to, and he finds no one. He simply doesn't belong. He whimpers, "I'm lost," hoping his nonexistent family will find him. They don't.
#3 Pieces of April
In
Pieces of April, the moment April's mother sees a young girl get yelled at by her mom in the restroom is where I teared up. We don't see the context of the fight, but the girl's mom impatiently stomps out of the bathroom stall leaving her daughter with tights still around the ankles pleading, "Mom!" The little girl and April's mom meet eyes and she embarrassingly pulls up her tights and runs out the door to catch her mother hoping she hasn't left the restaurant. As April's mother watches, she recognizes this moment. It was the same impatience she had towards April's childish faults. Whether it drove April to be the "screw up," she is today or not, she is still her daughter and she finally realizes that she has given up on her when she never should have.
#4 Waiting For Superman
During
Waiting for Superman, I teared up at the same part as I did during the trailer. The documentary was filmed in the past five years. The five children they focused on, roughly 8-14 years old, at their young age, each contained the heavy understanding that their future was dependent on the quality of their education. They tried their best to get high grades in their school, but their education hardly met their needs. They feared that they would never get out of the ghetto and would always have to struggle. They held all of their hope in the possibility of getting into these charter schools, but they were not chosen by any sort of merit or high grades. They were chosen by a ticket with a number on it. Lotto balls were picked at random and only a select few were picked. Children were frustrated and crying as it seemed less and less likely they would be chosen. The elementary school kids watched their futures fall apart before their eyes and felt condemned to a life they were trying to escape.
#5 X Factor
In the
X Factor, during the audition process and boot camp we followed Dexter Haygood. He said that he had been a musician previously, but hadn't had his big break yet. He was 49 years old. He auditioned for the celebrity judges and with a crowd-pleasing, but unoriginal Jackson Brown impression, they were not impressed. For some reason, Simon gave him another chance. "Dexter, you know what? ...15 seconds acapella. All you. Go." Its revealed that Dexter is currently homeless. He's living out of his car. The only thing that he has is his passion for performing. He puts up the mic and opens his mouth. With raw emotion and broken soul, he sings. The crowd stands up cheering him on. On the condition that he comes as himself and not Jackson Brown, he gets four yeses.
The part I teared up happened at the end of "boot camp." Yes, he made it through the initial audition process, but now the judges filter the contestants in the "Over 30s age" group again slimming the number from the hundreds to only fifteen. If he got through, this would be his chance to be mentored by one of the four industry judges in their personal homes. We're reminded of his trials. As they announce the last few names of the people who made it in the 30 year old or older group, their eyes are a mix of futility, last hope, and acceptance. They try to keep cool and as the camera zooms into each, only their eyes read. The judges take their time to say the last name. Dexter's eyes are furrowed, trying to look tough and indifferent. They announce it... "Dexter Haygood!" His legs collapse and he falls onto someone else's shoulder. His face breaks down with uncontrollable crying. Paula Abdul walks right up to him. The moment she wraps her arms around him they start bawling together. He made it.
Anyone can tell me that these movies or tv shows are dumb, okay, or simply disappointing, but no matter what I have to give the directors and producers some credit: For at least one solid moment, they got me.
