Continue with me on my tearjerker journey through some of the movies that made me cry over the years.
6. Brian’s Song
Wow, I must have been all of eight years old when I saw this one. It was a made-for-television movie, but it tore through my young heart nonetheless. It is the true story of Chicago Bears teammates Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan), who was white and Gale Sayers (played by the oh-so-handsome Billy Dee Williams), who was black. The two opposites attract and become best friends – that is until Brian Piccolo is struck down with cancer and dies. Only the most hardened person could have his or her eyes stay dry when Sayers dedicates a courage award to his friend, saying, “I love Brian Piccolo. And, I’d like all of you to love him too. And tonight, when you hit your knees, please ask God to love him.”
5. Rudy
In case you cannot tell by now, I am a sucker for a good sports movie. And, there are few that are more inspirational than Ruby, the true story of Dan “Rudy” Ruettiger (played by Sean Astin). Rudy loved Notre Dame and dreamed of playing football for them. There were just three small problems – lack of money, bad grades, and physical size. But, Rudy overcomes all these obstacles to play in the final game alongside the big guys, with his dad and best friend watching from the stands.
4. The Pianist
Okay, this one is a given – how can a movie that deals with the holocaust NOT make you cry? However, this one really got to me. It is the true story of pianist Wladysław Szpilman. All he wanted to do was make his music, but that was interrupted by Hitler and his Nazi regime. Szpilman sees his family jerked away from him, almost starves to death in a hidden apartment, then finally, running for his life, runs into the one thing he doesn’t want to see – a Nazi officer.
But, Germany is about to fall and even some of the officers are doubting Hitler. The officer not only hides Szpilman in the attic of a Nazi headquarters, but also brings him food, newspapers, and gives him his coat to keep warm. After Szpilman is rescued, he tries to find the Nazi officer who helped save him. We see in the closing credits that the officer, Captain Wilm Hosenfeld, was captured by the Soviets, sentenced to 25 years for war crimes, and died in prison, despite having many petitions filed for his release. I dare your eyes to stay dry during this movie.