Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Sniff

Break out the hankies.

Curious which unexpected movie moment brings you to tears without fail. Not the classically sad turn of events or empirically tragic twist, rather the scene or celluloid moment one wouldn’t expect to render you misty, but indeed gets to you evvvveeerrry time.

For me, it comes early in 1992's A League of Their Own where Shirley Baker cannot determine if she's made the female professional baseball league or is on the cut list since she can't read. Every time, and I'm talking real tears!

And you?

8 comments:

Kos said...

In Awakenings, when DeNiro is starting to get the shakes back, and the nurse dances with him, and he stops shaking. I'm crying right now just thinking a bout it.

At the end of October Sky, when they show all the old movies of the actual boys on whom the movie was based.

Rudy. Say no more.

Teacake said...

I tear up a lot during sports movies (or movies containing sports), during those scenes where they ultimately win or lose, whether they're sad or not. Seabiscuit. The Black Stallion. A League of Their Own. The '86 World Series.

Not sure if this counts since they clearly wanted me to cry, but Wilson floating away in Cast Away isn't classically tragic and I cried. A lot.

And yeah, okay, the part where the absolutely lovely Paul Bettany bellows "One of your own!" in A Knight's Tale. Every time. You wanna make something of it?

Paticus said...

The last memory in "Eternal Sunshine Of the Spotless Mind" when the house is crumbling around them, and Jim Carrey says "You said, 'So go.', with such disdain." It breaks my heart.

Meet me in Montauk.

Natsthename said...

"Rudy" makes my hubby cry, too.

Me? The scene in "Shenendoah" where Charlie Anderson (Jimmy Stewart's character) is talking to his dead wife at her grave after his son, his daughter-in-law, and his grandson were killed by rogue Yankee soldiers. Every stinking time he says "And the soldiers, well, they just wanna go home," I just start sobbing.

Stephanie said...

Some scenes get me if I'm in the right mood, like Boromir's death scene. As for a guarantee of body-wracking sobs? The "Baby Mine" scene in Dumbo. Well almost ALL of Dumbo but that scene every single time.

Teacake said...

Yeah, what is up with Dumbo? Like I'd ever show that to my kid.

Boromir's death scene is great stuff. Sean Bean did some excellent acting in that movie overall IMO.

O' Tim said...

In the midst of my favorite black comedy Little Big Man is a soliloquay that gets me every time. It is after the big massacre by Custer where Little Big Man (Jack Crabbe) asks Old Lodge Skins, "Do you hate them? Do you hate the White man now?"

The chief's reply is here (third quote down).
.

Unknown said...

It's a bit obvious, but I tear up at the very end of Schindler's List, when those people walk down with the actors who played them, and lay a stone on Oskar's grave. Because it's not a movie, and it's really not Spielberg playing with our heart-strings. Those people are really there, all alive, thanks to Schindler. It's the naked fact that they should be dead. They should not be walking in the sun. There should not be actors playing them in a film. That wasn't the plan. According to the plan, they would all be dead. And an entire country and an enormous machine was set in motion to ensure that would happen.

But look, there they are. Leathery old guys and bird-like little old women. Walking arm-in-arm with actors on a beautiful day, on your movie screen. The most magnificent fuck-you you could imagine to the killers.

The best revenge is living well, as we know. In their case, the best revenge is living at all.