Miramax; HBO/Courtesy Everett Collection; Peter Mountain/StudioCanal
Why watch a movie you know might make you cry? For the same reason people love to go to the movies to laugh or be scared: catharsis. There's something profound about connecting to a struggle, and the right films earn your tears through strong character development, committed performances, and themes that resonate with the viewer's own experiences.
HBO Max has a wide swath ofofferings in the tearjerker department, running the gamut from classic humanist tales likeBicycle Thieves(1948) andIkiru(1952), to tragic romances likeBrief Encounter(1945) andIn the Mood for Love(2000), to modern weepies likeWe Live in Time(2024).
Ahead, find our recommendations for the 15 best sad movies on HBO Max, for whenever you need a good cry.
Bicycle Thieves(1948)
The defining accomplishment of Italy's neorealist period,Bicycle Thievesis deceptively simple: A man gets a job. To do it, he needs a bike. Another man steals his bike. As a moral premise, this is easy, right? After all, Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) has a young son and a newborn to feed. But the film's profundity lies in its understanding that the thief, like so much of postwar Italy's working class, is in the same boat as Antonio. In other words, the desperation is circular. It's inevitable that, eventually, Antonio will be desperate enough to steal a bike himself, which is just one of the film's many brutal ironies.
Where to watchBicycle Thieves: HBO Max
Director:Vittorio De Sica
Cast:Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell
Brief Encounter(1945)
Screen Archives/Getty
The emotional themes featured in this British classic are as resonant today as they were in the 1940s. David Lean's intimate drama follows an unfulfilled married woman (Celia Johnson) who meets a charming married doctor (Trevor Howard) and connects instantly. As they continue to spend more time together, they are tempted to take their relationship to the next level, despite the realities of their home lives.
The push and pull between the union they want and the pressures of society is potent and free of judgment, and Johnson's soulful eyes tell us everything, even when she's not saying a word. —Kevin Jacobsen
Where to watchBrief Encounter: HBO Max
Director:David Lean
Cast:Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway
Cries and Whispers(1972)
Courtesy Everett Collection
If you're looking for sad cinema, Swedish directorIngmar Bergmancan help. This harrowing Oscar-nominated drama centers on a pair of sisters, Maria (Liv Ullmann) and Karin (Ingrid Thulin), as they attend to their other sister, Agnes (Harriet Andersson), who is dying of cancer. But the relationship between the siblings is extremely complicated, plagued with jealousy and traumas that make this far from a sentimental tearjerker. Bergman brings his trademark uncompromising realism to the film — as well as a stunning red color palette — making us feel every agonized moan of despair. —K.J.
Where to watchCries and Whispers: HBO Max
Director:Ingmar Bergman
Cast:Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin, Liv Ullmann, Inga Gill
Dope Sick Love(2005)
Dope Sick Lovegets its power from its powerlessness. This unfiltered depiction of two couples experiencing drug problems on the streets of New York — hustling, scoring, surviving — isn't framed by an inspiring message of recovery. There are no talking-head interviews putting addiction into a moral context, nor are there romanticized vagabonds. Instead, the camera simply observes these lives, which are astonishing in their ugliness, danger, and dread.
The very idea of intervention — by filmmakers, by medical professionals, or by family members on the periphery of these addicts' lives — is a no-go. What makes the documentary so affecting is that it simply refuses to look away.
Where to watchDope Sick Love: HBO Max
Directors:Felice Conte, Brent Renaud, Craig Renaud
Every Brilliant Thing(2016)
Every Brilliant Thing, the HBO recording of British comedian Jonny Donahoe's one-man show, takes pleasure in small moments. The conceit is simple and strangely moving: A young boy creates a list of things that make life worth living to cheer up his depressed mother, who attempted suicide. The performance invites the audience to participate, reading out various bits from the list — "the smell of old books" is one, "sunlight" another — and finding joy in the small things that populate our daily lives. The show's inherent sorrow is alleviated by Donahoe's sense of hope, humor, and the notion that being alive is beautiful.
Where to watchEvery Brilliant Thing: HBO Max
EW grade:A–
Directors:Fenton Fox Bailey, Randy Barbato
Cast:Jonny Donahoe
The Fallout(2022)
HBO/YouTube
It's a tragedy that this sensitive drama about the aftermath of a school shooting is as relevant today as it is.Jenna Ortegastars as Vada, a student struggling to cope with the trauma of an incident at her school in which 16 classmates were killed.The Falloutunflinchingly depicts the difficulties of growing up in a fearful, anxiety-ridden generation, in which senseless violence and the emotional roller coaster of maturing into adulthood are inextricably linked in uncomfortable ways. —K.J.
Where to watchThe Fallout: HBO Max
Director:Megan Park
Cast:Jenna Ortega,Maddie Ziegler, Julie Bowen, John Ortiz, Niles Fitch, Shailene Woodley
Ikiru(1952)
Courtesy Everett Collection
What does it mean to truly live? Akira Kurosawa explores this with aching honesty inIkiru, which tells the story of Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura), an aging bureaucrat who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Despairing over thoughts that he's wasted his life, Kanji searches for meaning in his remaining months on Earth, finding solace in an optimistic young woman who inspires him to finally make a difference in the world. Tender yet damning in its depiction of soulless bureaucracy,Ikiruis one of the most emotionally wrenching films of all time. —K.J.
Where to watchIkiru: HBO Max
Director:Akira Kurosawa
Cast:Takashi Shimura, Miki Odagiri
In the Mood for Love(2000)
Miramax/Everett
No film has ever ached quite likeIn the Mood for Love. Mr. Chow (Tony Leung) and Mrs. Chan (Maggie Cheung) are doomed, seeking each other's company because their unfaithful spouses aren't around. A shared loneliness evolves into an overwhelming need, but their love can never be spoken or acted upon, hiding underneath a thin façade in polite society, circa 1962. There's a good reason this is considered one of the best movies ever made, and if any romance is likely to consume you with regret for the one that got away, this is it.
Where to watchIn the Mood for Love: HBO Max
EW grade:B+
Director:Wong Kar-wai
Cast:Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Rebecca Pan
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge(1999)
HBO/Courtesy Everett
Only three years beforeHalle Berrybecame the first Black woman to win the Best Actress Oscar, she portrayed the first-ever Black woman nominated in that category: Dorothy Dandridge. This HBO TV movie documents Dandridge's difficult life beyond the glamour of Hollywood, from tumultuous marriages to mismanaged career choices. Berry portrays Dandridge as wounded but tenacious, a complex person in an industry that didn't always know what to do with her. It's a tragic story, but well worth a watch to witness Berry's performance, which won her an Emmy and a Golden Globe award. —K.J.
Where to watchIntroducing Dorothy Dandridge: HBO Max
Director:Martha Coolidge
Cast:Halle Berry, Brent Spiner, Obba Babatundé,Loretta Devine, LaTanya Richardson
Secrets & Lies(1996)
Channel Four Films
Mike Leighunderstands the lives of everyday people more than most directors working today, as evidenced by this highly emotional, Oscar-nominated drama. The film follows a young Black woman named Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), who wishes to connect to her white birth mother, Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn). While Cynthia doesn't believe Hortense's claims at first, she comes to accept the truth while also juggling her dysfunctional relationship with her family. Blethyn's fragile performance makesSecrets & Liesa shattering watch, as Leigh explores working-class problems in sobering fashion. —K.J.
Where to watchSecrets & Lies: HBO Max
Director:Mike Leigh
Cast:Brenda Blethyn, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Timothy Spall, Phyllis Logan, Claire Rushbrook
Sorry, Baby(2025)
One of the best traits of this indie darling is how it never feels like it's trying to emotionally manipulate the audience, yet its storytelling is tremendously moving nonetheless. Eva Victor wrote, directed, and stars in this dramedy about a young college professor struggling with depression after suffering a traumatic event years ago. As she tries to move forward with her life, she also attempts to define how she feels about what's happened to her. "It's complicated and unassuming in the same beat,"writes EW's critic, calling the film "one of the most thoughtful and unforgettable of the year." —K.J.
Where to watchSorry, Baby: HBO Max
Director:Eva Victor
Cast:Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack, Lucas Hedges
Watership Down(1978)
As anyone who's seen it (or read the source material) will tell you,Watership Downisn't your standard kid-friendly fare about cute bunnies getting into adventures. The British animated film follows a group of rabbits who flee after one of their own has a premonition of their warren's destruction. Venturing out to find new shelter, the rabbits face an increasingly dangerous world full of predators and hope to find peace again. EW listedWatership Downasone of the best adaptations of a children's book, calling it a "rare kind of animated movie that's unhurried — even poetic — in its attempts to grab your attention." —K.J.
Where to watchWatership Down: HBO Max
Director:Martin Rosen
Cast:John Hurt, Richard Briers, Michael Graham Cox, Simon Cadell, Zero Mostel
We Live in Time(2024)
Peter Mountain/StudioCanal
This time-hopping drama follows the highs and lows of a relationship, withAndrew GarfieldandFlorence Pughgiving some of their most heartfelt performances on film to date. The actors star as recent divorcé Tobias (Garfield) and ice skater-turned-chef Almut (Pugh), who fall in love and hope to have children, though a diagnosis threatens to disrupt their plans. Those who love the earnest, bittersweet tone ofThis Is Uswill find a lot to like aboutWe Live in Time, including its cleverly constructed nonlinear narrative and the sincere chemistry between Garfield and Pugh. —K.J.
Where to watchWe Live in Time: HBO Max
Director:John Crowley
Cast:Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh
Wit(2001)
HBO/Courtesy Everett Collection
Emma Thompsondelivers one of her most moving performances in this smartly written TV movie. The Oscar winner stars as Vivian Bearing, a brilliant English professor who is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. Grappling with her new reality, Vivian tries to retain her strength while reckoning with her life's work. Though there is an inherent sadness in its premise,Witis indeed worthy of its title, a witty, clear-eyed look at life and death that forgoes easy sentiment. —K.J.
Where to watchWit: HBO Max
Director:Mike Nichols
Cast:Emma Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, Audra McDonald, Eileen Atkins
A Woman Under the Influence(1974)
Courtesy of Everett
John Cassavetes' portrait of a woman unraveling is a raw, unflinching examination of depression and marriage. Gena Rowlands plays Mabel, a housewife whose mental illness puts a strain on her relationship with her husband, Nick (Peter Falk). As Mabel's erratic behavior intensifies, Nick faces difficult decisions to get his wife proper treatment. Rowlands' performance is shattering, giving us a deeply vulnerable look into Mabel's fractured psyche. —K.J.
Where to watchA Woman Under the Influence: HBO Max
Director:John Cassavetes
Cast:Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk
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