The most depressing movie you ever saw?

[kimura]

Not really looking for recommendations here but just a discussion.

I was on this Gary Oldman phase a few months back, trying to watch everything he's been in. I discovered a crime film somewhat based on actual events called Murder in the First, which starred Christian Slater and Kevin Bacon. I don't know if any of you've seen it but basically Kevin Bacon is an orphan with a younger sister during the Depression and he steals five dollars from a post office or something, goes to prison (Alcatraz), tries to escape, gets caught and goes to the hole for a record time. Slater is a hot young lawyer trying to find out what the hell went wrong. Bacon is basically crying, naked, in his own filth, unshaven to the point that he looks like an actual cavemen and they beat the **** out of him for the first ten minutes or so. Reminded me of Passion of the Christ which I guess would work here as well.

Obviously it's a very personal line with films that are really heavy when you can take 'em in and appriciate them even if they are superbly sad or depressing. Like two undeniably wonderful films from '11, We Need to Talk About Kevin and Shame, those were downers but they were still great films. Tarkovsky's films are mostly so emotional or sad that they're even more hard to endure, and they are also long.

[Tallica1981]

I think we've had this thread before. I'll see if I can dig it up. The Road was very Gray and depressing.

[Tallica1981]

Found it!

http://www.mmafighting.net/forum/sho...ght=depressing

[NuclearExorcist]

Obviously it's a very personal line with films that are really heavy when you can take 'em in and appriciate them even if they are superbly sad or depressing. Like two undeniably wonderful films from '11, We Need to Talk About Kevin and Shame, those were downers but they were still great films. Tarkovsky's films are mostly so emotional or sad that they're even more hard to endure, and they are also long.

Yeah it's a bit difficult, I certainly wouldn't consider things that are thought provoking like Tarkovsky and challenge you emotionally as necessarily depressing

However some films that have been amazing and at the same time have left me truly uneasy have been at least:

Dancer in the Dark-more of a musical I guess, tells a story of an ill eastern european single mother moving to America and hoping to make it there, but things don't really go as planned.

Gummo-Not a fan of Harmony Korine and his cheap attempts at shock value most of the time, however this one struck something.

Wisconsin Death Trip- A truth based film that covers random acts of murder, arson, insanity, suicide etc that happened on almost a weekly basis during the last decade of the 19th century in a small town of Black River Falls.

The Road-I think I've seen people mention it already in other threads.

Pan's Labyrinth-In the fascist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.

[tantryl]

Murder in the First was trying to be inspirational toward the end there with the standing up for yourself bit but yeah, it's hard to come away feeling good about it.

I've always like Lawn Dogs - starring Sam Rockwell and Mischa Barton before they were famous. Mischa gets her top off! ... she was ~9 years old. It's a pretty simple story combining themes of coming-of-age with class issues. The ending is a bit of a stretch as is the scene with Rockwell's family but I'm a sucker for coming of age and minor fantasy elements.

Saving Private Ryan was pretty depressing. After all, it was a story of a bunch of guys dying just to give one guy whose brothers were already dead a chance.

Requiem for a Dream takes a few extremes showing how people go from merely normal or bad situations to completely ****ed situations. It's a little over-wrought but it does what it sets out to do.

Chinatown. Depressing in a simple bad-guys-exist-because-being-a-bad-guy-works way.

The 1984 version of Nineteen Eighty-Four. Nuff said.

[Tallica1981]

Of Mice and Men is kind of a bummer as well

[ATroms]

Boy In the Striped Pajamas

[Ash]

[KnockOut]

Revolutionary Road. The most negative, miserable film experience I've ever had.

[WEREWOLF]

Leaving Las Vegas

The Rapture

Requiem For A Dream

Funny Games