In class today we were deconstructing short films for analysis and assessment and all of that business, pretty much like a normal Friday for me. But we watched this one short film, ran for about 11 minutes are so and it was intense. I can't remember the name or director right now but it was an incredible event for me, and it's the first time I was ever emotional during a film. Basically it was a response to the 9/11 attacks, but the way in which it was delivered was disturbing and sad and just fucking hopeless. It was pretty much a black screen for the most part, different sounds building up, news reports, half-heard chants, intense shit like that. Then some footage of the planes striking the towers, you know, everything you've seen before.

But then it got to this one section of phone calls from the people who died in the event, played over shots of bodies falling out from the towers... Just really fucking intense and mortifying, presented the whole event in a way I'd never even thought about. Just seeing someone so desperate to live that they would jump to certain death sooner than die in the crash or fire... Fffffff Jesus. It was really powerful and I felt absolutely shitty the whole time, just confronted with all this. I actually had to leave after it was shown and collect myself. This is pretty odd since I am never really affected to that degree.

Anyway share similar experiences in film that made you happy, sad, nervous, etc.

A number of German language movies recently, the highlights being: Stalingrad, Sophie Scholl: Die Letzen Tage (The Last Days), Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) and Der Untergang (The Downfall)

all of these movies in their own way left an impression on me that didnt go away for some time after.. though Sophie Scholl I should think is just about the most intense movie I have ever watched. I dont even know how to describe it, but it is almost painful to watch.

the only movie i can ever really recall actually like IMPACTING ME ON A SEVERE EMOTIONAL LEVEL would probably be Schindler's List. I mean it's just so fucking tragic.

And Radio. That shit is so sad.

Night and Fog was pretty emotional. And Fahrenheit 9/11 was actually pretty emotional too, despite the fact that it wasn't credible or whatever.

In terms of narratives and not documentaries, Requiem for a Dream would probably be the most intense movie I've seen.

^I agree with Night and Fog, that shit just puts everything into perspective about the topic and it's pretty depressing.

Schindler's List was pretty incredible in terms of power, it's probably my favourite movie all in all. The ending is a bit Spielberg tear-jerker but it works so well in the context and is definitely incredibly moving. Goeth throughout the movie is pretty disturbing as well.

American Beauty is another amazing movie that really struck a chord with me (and I think it'll keep becoming more relevant as I get older). It just showed the difference that one average person can make to the people around him, and what even a weak man will do when pushed too far.

Irreversible is bloody intense, and even ignoring the 'big two scenes' it's a pretty powerful film. It shows the darker side of love - what you can be driven to do if something close to you is threatened or destroyed. It also shows the dark side of personalities in general, and how even a seemingly calm, collected and quiet person can explode because of terrible events. It's a pretty flawed film in a lot of ways but definitely worth a watch (even if you won't want to watch it again).

Idi I Smotri is a pretty amazing war film that gets overlooked often, and shows the devastation war causes on a grounded, human level. The barn scene is pulled off so well - it presents the utterly hopeless circumstance and the pain of the protagonist so clearly it's almost scary. The bleak, unrelenting cinematography is incredible.

I think on a lighter note The Shawshank Redemption (while being almost cliched in discussions nowadays) shows the power of hope and what a man driven by it can be set to do. The ending prison sequence is one of the most amazing in any film ever.

gregory peck's speech near the end of to kill a mockingbird is approx 75% of the reason I'm becoming a lawyer.

gregory peck's speech near the end of to kill a mockingbird is approx 75% of the reason I'm becoming a lawyer.

...because it is just that that incredible.

You know, I had a whole detailed list of these (with pictures) that was lost in the archives...

I'd like to repost it. Is there any way to access the archives?

But uh, if I had to name one... Children of Men, where all the war stops and the soldiers stop to look at the baby.

"Where's my snake?"

"Well, he... he met with like an accident.  He passed away."

I watched Shoah fairly recently and I've probably never been so affected by a film. Afterwards I had a hard time sleeping, eating or talking about anything else for a little while.

i gotta see to kill a mockingbird again. i done the film and book in highschool, and we all loved it. it was pretty remarkable, the ENTIRE CLASS thought the experience was really great and we all got into the story and the themes. that never happened with anything else.

but i haven't watched the movie since then nor read the book. i'm going to.

ps fucking Mulholland Dr. is the most depressing shit ever especially for faggots like me

Uh, I mean more like, films that provoke an intense emotional response in you.

The Land Before Time



watch for that sharptooth

Uh, I mean more like, films that provoke an intense emotional response in you.

To name a few,

Into the Wild
Just the whole story of Christopher McCandless and his arrogance and self-centredness in wanting to get away from society and go live in the wilderness and the people he continued and the effect he left on them. I didn't really know how to feel but I could really relate to him.

Children of Men
Speculative science fiction concerning how the state of the world would be if childbirth stopped. It just made me feel really grim and sad, man. That shit was really depressing.

Babel
Connecting stories about four different groups in different countries to show troubles with miscommunication and other stuff. The segments with the deaf Japanese girl played by Rinko Kikuchi provoked the most emotional response in me.

The Last Temptation of Christ
I'm not a Christian. I'm not even religious. But I'd take this movie over any rehashed Jesus story any day because of the intense human side it portrayed Jesus to have.

The Thin Red Line
Stories about a number of soldiers and sergeants involved in Guadalcanal. I think The Thin Red Line touches on a broad number of topics than any other war movie I have seen. Well, as far as what goes on in a soldier's head during the war, that is. It provides an angle that we don't usually see in war movies and it made me feel sad as hell.