Sometimes a certain mood finds you – the sort where you aren’t quite sad or indifferent but ready and willing to take something profound into yourself. Of course, no comedy would cater to this mood, and no action film would have that depth in it that you are looking for, but a sad movie might be just the thing that the doctor has ordered. So, if we’ve described your needs exactly, then this is the right list that you’ve stumbled upon – our selection of the best sad movies on Netflix right now.
Why Netflix? Well, with such vast quantities of great sad movies, we’ve narrowed down the selection to just those available on the Netflix streaming platform since it is probably the most widely used one today. And boy, do they have a nice selection of tear-jerkers and heart-breakers! From romantic dramas like About Time and Remember Me to incredible instant-classic movies like Roma and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, everyone will find a film to wet their eyes and satiate the need for profoundness.
So, cleanse your mind and get ready for it to be filled with the bittersweet stories depicted in these sad movies. While the submissions are in no particular order here, we’ve supplied the uppermost ten movies with short descriptions so you’d know what you are getting yourself into. If you’d like, give the saddest movies your vote and share this tear-jerking list with your friends who have been way too happy recently. The key is balance, after all!
#1 About Time
2013 | 2 hours 3 minutes | Directed by Richard Curtis
Starring Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy
About Time is a science fantasy comedy-drama about a young man who has the ability to travel through time. His main goal is to alter his past to better the future, but we all know how that goes – usually awry or painfully. So, our young man Tim discovers that by traveling time he still won’t be able to escape the sorrows and the hardships of the thing called life. About Time is a beautifully filmed sentimental story that might just squeeze a tear out of you.
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#2 The Theory Of Everything
2014 | 2 hours 3 minutes | Directed by James Marsh
Starring Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Tom Prior
The Theory Of Everything is a biographical romantic drama film detailing the life of the theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking. The movie itself was adapted from Jane Hawking’s 2007 memoir Travelling To Infinity: My Life With Stephen, so you know that at least a better half of the story is completely true. The most important part of the story here is the relationship between Jane and Stephen and their intertwined lives. The Theory Of Everything is a solid movie that seemingly has everything just right – a guaranteed good watch.
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#3 Remember Me
2010 | 1 hour 53 minutes | Directed by Allen Coulter
Starring Robert Pattinson, Emilie de Ravin, Caitlyn Rund
Remember Me is a coming-of-age romantic drama centering on two new lovers. Both Tyler and Ally have sad prehistories – the suicide of a brother and the murder of a mother. With tragedy as the story’s backbone, you would expect Remember Me to be quite grim, but nonetheless, you get involved with the characters and feel for them up until a very unexpected plot twist right in the end.
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#4 Roma
2018 | 2 hours 15 minutes | Directed by Alfonso Cuaron
Starring Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey
Roma is a drama film set in the 1970s in Mexico City. The main protagonist here is a Mixteco housekeeper of an upper-middle-class family, Cleo, and the plot follows a year in her life that’s full of complications, ups and downs, and a very heartbreaking conclusion. Roma is, in fact, a semi-autobiography of Alfonso Cuaron himself and his upbringing in the Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City. Shot only in black-and-white, Roma doesn’t lack in the department of cinematography whatsoever; in fact, the beautiful views will definitely mesmerize you throughout its run but never overwhelm the beautiful, life-like, and bittersweet story of Cleo.
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#5 Philomena
2013 | 1 hour 38 minutes | Directed by Stephen Frears
Starring Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark
Philomena is a drama film based on the book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee by journalist Martin Sixsmith, which in turn is based on the real story of Philomena Lee’s 50-year search for her adopted son. Somehow, Philomena manages to be a real tear-jerker and a great vessel for ironic humor at the same time, but that’s exactly what makes this movie life-like and excellent.
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#6 Marriage Story
2019 | 2 hours 17 minutes | Directed by Noah Baumbach
Starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Julia Greer
Marriage Story is a drama film that follows an actress and a theater director going through a divorce. It’s a very compassionate look into the circumstances and two people’s decision to end their relationship but stay a family even though the original plan has fallen to pieces. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson do a stellar job in portraying the scorned couple, and although seemingly no events take place in Marriage Story, you cannot help but get immersed into their world and invest yourself into their feelings.
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#7 What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
1993 | 1 hour 58 minutes | Directed by Lasse Hallstrom
Starring Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is a coming-of-age drama based on Peter Hedges’s 1991 novel of the same name. The story follows 25-year-old Gilbert, who works as a grocery store clerk and takes care of his obese mother and intellectually disabled younger brother, so ingeniously played here by young Leonardo. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape might seem a bit sentimental at times, but it doesn’t lessen the feel of it being a real-as-life story elevated to new heights by completely stellar performances of its cast.
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#8 Pieces Of A Woman
2020 | 2 hours 6 minutes | Directed by Kornel Mundruczo
Starring Vanessa Kirby, Shia LaBeouf, Ellen Burstyn
Pieces Of A Woman is a drama film centering on a young woman’s tragedy. It all starts with a complication during home childbirth, falls into relationship-breaking year-long mourning, and leads to a subsequent court case against the midwife. Pieces Of A Woman is a deeply personal story and no easy watch; however, an excellent witness to Vanessa Kirby’s talent and Kornel Mundruczo’s skills at directing.
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#9 A Single Man
2009 | 1 hour 39 minutes | Directed by Tom Ford
Starring Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode
A Single Man is a period romantic drama film based on Christopher Isherwood’s 1964 novel of the same name. The movie also marked the directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford. The story itself follows an English professor who, after the death of his boyfriend, finds his life in the ’60s Los Angeles depressing and quite unbearable. Most of the reviews singled out the stellar performance by Colin Firth, who, undoubtedly, contributed to the overall success of the movie and the eerie feeling of the film staying with you for some time.
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#10 Tell Me Who I Am
2019 | 1 hour 26 minutes | Directed by Ed Perkins
Starring Andrew Caley, Alex Lewis, Marcus Lewis
Tell Me Who I Am is a documentary film that focuses on twin brothers Alex and Marcus. After losing his memory in an accident, Alex relies on his brother to tell him about his past. However, Alex soon taps into a harrowing secret that Marcus has kept since their childhood. The story they share is both deeply sad and somehow beautiful, and you won’t come out of this movie the same as you were before.
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#11 If Anything Happens I Love You
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#12 Brokeback Mountain
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#13 The Pianist
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#14 The Zookeeper’s Wife
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#15 Into The Wild
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#16 Milk
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#17 Nights In Rodanthe
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#18 Before I Fall
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#19 Caught By A Wave
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#20 Million Dollar Baby
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#21 Schindler’s List
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#22 The Help
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#23 The Boy In The Striped Pajamas
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#24 Room
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#25 The Pursuit Of Happyness
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#26 A Little Princess
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#27 Hugo
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#28 One Day
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#29 Seven Pounds
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#30 Rain Man
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#31 Les Misérables
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#32 Charlie St. Cloud
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#33 Gran Torino
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#34 The Impossible
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#35 The Florida Project
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#36 The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind
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#37 The Spectacular Now
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#38 Secretariat
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#39 Irreplaceable You
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#40 Spotlight
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#41 Dear John
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#42 Blue Valentine
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#43 Lion
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#44 The Time Traveler’s Wife
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#45 Lady Bird
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#46 The Little Prince
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#47 Loev
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#48 6 Balloons
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#49 Always
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#50 Blue Is The Warmest Color
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