Summary

Despite being released with very little furtherance , merchandising , or any advanced hype , movies can still impact audiences with their intensely aroused stories . The most poignant flick often fly under the radiolocation , antedate flashy ad or controversial hype in party favour of raw compassion . alternatively of rhetoric , intimate direction and emotional honesty are utilized to catch audiences off - guard . Modest promotional campaigns give more opportunity for profound explorations of the human condition , harness wrenching open matter with grace rather than needless trauma .

While there aremovies that make interview scream every time , others center on quiet stories that cringe in and emotionally destroy out of the blue . This examine that gaudy merchandising matters far less than compassion and emotional verity when conveying picture palace ’s ultimate purpose , connecting strangers through stories that honor the fragile aspects of humanity . By shunning hype for sincerity , these under - the - radar triumphs show that depth does n’t call for to be hype , but rather delivering excited moment unassumingly put up just as much impact .

Looking for sad moving picture on Netflix to have a full cry to ? Here are 25 expectant sad films on the weapons platform that will do on the nose that and more .

Collage of Netflix sad movies - Beasts of No Nation, Marriage Story, and Pieces of a Woman

11About Time (2013)

A Deeply Emotional Film Disguised As A Classic Rom-Com

Cast

star Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams , About Timecenters around Tim Lake , who discover he can time travel and uses this power to better his life and find love . While appearing to be a campaign - of - the - pulverisation romantic drollery with atime - travel twist , the motion picture takes some heavy emotional turns that were all unexpected .

deal with grief and mortality in profound ways , About Timelands incredible , worked up punch . At one detail , Tim travels back in time to fix the life of his babe Kit Kat ( Lydia Wilson ) , only to ascertain it has a devastating impact on his own child . And in the most unforgettably annihilating sequence , after the death of his father , that he can not go back in time any more without switch his lifetime too much . Without boastful promotional buzz or fanfare around its acquittance , About Timemanaged to deliver a unambiguously semisweet take on the fourth dimension locomotion writing style that packs a surprising emotional punch .

10Pieces Of A Woman (2020)

A Raw Depiction Of Grief

Rather than riding a wave of bombination , Pieces of a Womanarrived quietly with piffling hype . Yet this intimate dramatic play deliver an unexpectedly gut - wrenching experience . At its marrow , the story follows a couple whose new-sprung daughter tragically dies during a home plate birth . This shatter loss becomes a catalyst that erodes their relationship and larger family .

This film depicts the raw , messy , confounding ways grief can unravel people ’s life story . Without warning , the film thrusts its consultation into the shoes of the charactersenduring this unimaginable pain . The result is a psychotherapeutic emotional journeying that illuminates the capacity of cinema to build empathy , even for those living through animation ’s most difficult trials .

From disputation to promising moments , these lines in Pieces of a Woman are the most aroused and raw in the film .

Pieces of a Woman

9Blue Valentine (2010)

Tackles The Painful Complexities Of Failed Love

Even thoughBlue Valentinereached theater with small hoopla , the indie play delivered an knowledgeable feeling at a marriage falling aside . Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams star as Dean and Cindy , a couple depicted in two decided phases : in love and piercingly estranged .

By cutting back and forward between these time periods , the narration lays their once roll in the hay relationship side - by - side with its vile licentiousness . Where there was once gleeful soldering , only coldness and resentment remain , despite Dean still being consecrate . Blue Valentineunexpectedly packs on the raw cataclysm of an expired romance , showcasing Gosling and Williams ’ great performances .

8Candy (2006)

A Little-Known Australian Film That Shows The Realities Of Addiction

The little experience Australian dramaCandydelivers a compellingly gloomy portrayal of diacetylmorphine addiction . Starring Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish as Dan and Candy , two devotee hold fast by romance and a inscrutable dependance on drug . Without judging , the film chronicles their fall across three acts , “ Heaven , ” “ Earth , ” and “ Hell , ” highlighting the cycles of hope and humiliation that addicts endure .

Candyholds nothing back when showing how heroin ravage endure , even for those with endowment and promise like Dan and Candy . Through raw , intimate performances , Ledger and Cornish illuminate the pity and brief moments of affection that characterize the unraveling of their relationship .

7Other People (2016)

A Powerfully Emotional Punch That Exceeds Expectations Due To Low-Key Promotion

get in in theaters without significant promotional hype or advanced bombilation , Other Peoplesurprised with its perfect portmanteau of poignancy and humor . Starring Molly Shannon as a female parent with a concluding Cancer the Crab diagnosing , the film take out assumptions about its potentially familiar - fathom cancer plotline . While incorporating the ask tragedies of disease , the moviealso delivers sound insightsand even belly laugh involving living ’s fatuity when face fatality rate head - on .

Based on writer - manager Chris Kelly ’s real - aliveness experiences , Other Peoplesteers off from melodrama to cut to the core of family relationships tested by impending passing . The end result is a dramedy that blindsides with its emotional satinpod and comedy .

6Never Let Me Go (2010)

Advanced Hype Was Unnecessary For This Emotionally Intense Drama

establish on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro , Never Let Me Goreached theaters with very little hype . Despite that , this sci - fi infused play turn up to be deeply affecting in its own right field . Considered one ofAndrew Garfield ’s best movies , the film chronicles three friends ’ doomed come - of - age at a boarding school dissemble a horrify secret about their futurity .

As their honest purpose in life history becomes apparent , the friends wrestle with lovemaking and the unchangeable fate that look them . With very little promotional material , Never Let Me Gotackles heavy themesof indistinguishability and the fragility of existence in a means that resonates deeply .

5The Impossible (2012)

An Emotionally Raw Story Based On A True Life Catastrophe

The Impossiblesurprised moviegoers with its aroused and acute take on real - life disaster and endurance . Rather than spectacle , theatre director Juan Antonio Bayona choose for emotional intimacy in recite the true story of one kinfolk swept up in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami .

Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor smooth as parent press against nature ’s fury to protect their tike and each other as their idyllic vacation sprain catastrophic . Free of overhyped expectation , The Impossibleresonated by draw raw tenacity , provingbig emotion does not always require major promotion .

Lucas in The Impossible was Tom Holland ’s first major movie role before Spider - Man . How old was the player when he starred in The Impossible ?

Lucas hugs his brothers in The Impossible

4What Maisie Knew (2012)

An Emotionally Charged Drama Through The Eyes Of A Child

The indie dramaWhat Maisie Knewportrays an unexpectedly intestine - wrenching , yet compassionate journeying seen through the eyes of a little girl . Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan star as ego - absorbed split up parents using six - year - old Maisie as ammunition against each other .

This disfunction is shown through Maisie ’s innocent POV as her female parent and Father-God ’s bitterness destroy their family . detached of manufactured hype that might have portrayed it as a basic family film , What Maisie Knewcuts to the off-white with quiet saving grace . fill more with difficult verity than easy outrage , the film prove emotionally piercing despite its lack of boxful authority ballyhoo beforehand .

3The Florida Project (2017)

An Emotionally Honest Portrayal That Came In By Surprise

The Florida Projectarrived unassumingly before surprising audiences with its vibrant , yet unflinching snapshot of the realities of childhood poorness . Starring the young Brooklynn Prince as Moonee and Willem Dafoe as the budget motel managing director watchfully keep an eye on her , the film explore a struggle residential district existing in Disney World ’s literal fantasm . Director Sean crafts moment that take unexpected turns from describe moments of beauty to crushing devastation .

While modestly promote , The Florida Projectresonated due to its sturdy and compassionate true statement - singing . The ending ofThe Florida Project , emotional money plant proved more compelling than any hyperbolic hype , proving this leave out gem as an unforgettable standout .

2Lion (2016)

An Intensely Emotional Journey From Start To Finish

Lionproceeded unassumingly into theater of operations , only to promptly establish its unattackable emotional presence . Chronicling young Saroo ’s fade from his Indian hamlet , separation from family , and eventual espousal by Australian parent , the flick seemed destined for a classic sentimental tale . However , the film instead painstakingly craft a decennium - traverse , intimate epic .

The vivid characters , cultural intricacy , and powerful performances , Liontranscended the first moment of clichéd tropes . Rather than gaudy binge , it provide intense abreaction brought on by Saroo ’s journey towards reclaiming his indistinguishability . Through moment of joy , anguish , and hope , it was easy to experience his emotional life right alongside him .

About Time, Never Let Me Go and Blue Valentine

Rachel McAdams as Mary and Domhnall Gleeson as Tim in About Time

Headshot Of Domhnall Gleeson

Headshot Of Rachel McAdams In The Premiere of ‘Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret’

Headshot Of Bill Nighy

Headshot Of Tom Hollander

Headshot Of Vanessa Kirby

Cast Placeholder Image

Headshot Of Sarah Snook

Dean looking at Cindy in Blue Valentine

Jesse Plemmons and Molly Shannon smiling in Other People

Naomi Watts and Tom Holland as Maria and Lucas in The Impossible

Lincoln and Maisie in What Maisie Knew

Mooney at a hotel room in The Florida Project

Headshot Of Brooklynn Prince

Headshot Of Christopher Rivera

Headshot Of Caleb Landry Jones In The 80th Venice International Film Festival: ‘Dogman’ premiere.

Young Saroo on the back of Gudoo in Lion

Headshot Of Dev Patel In The Los Angeles Premiere Of Universal Pictures ‘Monkey Man’

Headshot Of Divian Ladwa

Headshot Of Nicole Kidman In The Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix’s ‘A Family Affair’