A TRIBUTE TO TEARJERKERS

Over the weekend, I saw NEVER LET ME GO -- an ambiguous movie about repressed clones whose sole purpose in existing is to donate their organs so that the rest of humanity can live disease-free. It's a brilliantly acted meditation not about the immorality of cloning or organ harvesting, but about the value of a person's life... and how to make the most of the short time that one is given. It's also an unrelenting sob-fest. Below is the trailer.



During the middle of the movie, I wanted to cry, but couldn't because the woman in the row behind me was sniffling so hard, I got distracted (apparently Roger Ebert had a similar experience). However, by the film's completion, I felt a huuuuuge gush of emotion come over me... and I couldn't really contain myself. I tried to hold it all in, but I ended up making a weird noise -- a mix between a gasp and a moan. My mother, who was also crying pretty hard, turned to me and laughed.

It was one of those movie experiences that will likely never let me go (pun intended).

Anyway, as I've been thinking about it the past couple of days, I've been recollecting other tearjerker movies that have had a huge impact on me... as well as my experiences with other big-time movie criers like myself.

The first movie I ever cried during was BEAUTY AND THE BEAST in 1991. I remember the tears falling down when the beast died at the end and Belle was all alone. I recall the feeling quite vividly. As a four-year-old, I was almost confused by it. Since that time (with the exception of some "dry" spells), it's been quite a wet and teary film-watching ride -- a ride for which I am entirely grateful. Why? Because despite a carrying a certain stigma, crying at movies is totally good for you...

Here's the basic gist of movie tears: you're not crying for the characters on screen, you're crying for yourself and the people you know. Don't believe me? Try it the next time you're watching a movie and feel the sniffles coming on. What's the image that pops into your head just before the tears fall down? Odds are, it's something to do with your life and your various relationships...

But it's okay -- this is what movies are good for. It's good to watch actors actualize grief... it helps us to actualize it within ourselves. It's good to see characters finally getting what they need... because it's like we're getting what we need. It's good to catch little glimpses of the truth... little hints of people's souls. It gives us hope for ourselves and the people in our lives. Not to sound really corny here, but it gives us a glimpse of our own souls.

Movies call attention to the things we don't say to each other in real life because we're too afraid. Fiction in general reveals the emotional truth of life and helps us to purge ourselves of feelings that have accumulated inside of us -- feelings that need to come out.

Bursting into tears in the middle of the street is not generally considered socially acceptable in American culture. But sometimes life and love and the world make you feel like crying the middle of the street. Fortunately, most of the time you're able to control yourself and keep it in check... but those feelings and those tears are still locked deep within you. Where do they go? Well...

The tears you refuse to cry during your everyday life come spewing out of you during THE GREEN MILE. And after you take a deep breath, even though you feel a little sad, you feel a great sense of relief because you've just disposed of all those pent-up emotions. That's catharsis... and that's why it's important to watch a "depressing" movie every once in a while.

How do people who refuse to watch sad movies rid themselves of their overwhelming feelings?

If you're a guy, screaming your head off at the NFL on Sunday and Monday might help you let off some steam, but... I think, whether you admit it or not, to prevent from having a wild outburst, even you need to shed some tears -- and films are the perfect protected outlet in which to do that.

People who refuse to watch sad movies are more likely to have some sort of breakdown. Note: this isn't proven in science... it's just my guess. Take it for what it's worth.

I want this blog entry to serve as my formal apology to those I've mocked when they've cried at movies. If I told you to calm down when you blubbered like a baby at TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, or if I pointed and laughed at you when you were still crying (even in the lobby) after seeing THE NOTEBOOK, or if I got into a fight with you because your incessant sniffling annoyed the crap out of me when we saw BABEL. I'm very sorry. Though I have sobbed at movies before, I didn't really know what you were going through until this weekend... when I experienced one of those explosive crying moments for myself.

If you're made curious by this blog entry and looking for a good tearjerker, I highly recommend IN AMERICA. I've known people who thought they were incapable of crying or in a dry spell (including myself) and then they watched this movie and were quickly proven wrong. Try it.

And keep crying those cathartic tears.

Until next time. Ciao.