24 Sad Movies on Netflix That Are Definite Tear-Jerkers

If you could completely scrub your ex from your memory, would you? After breaking up with his girlfriend Clementine (Kate Winslet), Joel (Jim Carrey) decides to undergo a memory-erasing medical procedure to do exactly that. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is told in memory fragments as Clementine is expunged from Joel’s mind—and as he starts to question whether he really wants to forget.

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Equal parts heartwarming and heartbreaking, Will and Harper follows Will Ferrell and his longtime friend Harper Steele on a drive across the U.S. But it’s not just a buddy road trip movie—this documentary is all about Ferrell and Steele navigating their friendship after Steele’s gender transition, and her experiencing the country as her true self for the first time.

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Mija has spent most of her life living in the South Korean mountains caring for Okja, a genetically modified “super pig.” When Okja is kidnapped by the corporation that created her, Mija goes on a mission to save her best friend. Bong Joon Ho wrote and directed this scathing critique of the food industry that The New York Times named one of the most influential films of the 2010s.

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In 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashed in the snowy Andes Mountains with 45 people on board. This Spanish film is based on the true story of the passengers who survived for 72 days—and who made impossible choices in order to live.

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Five-year-old Jack’s entire world is Room, where he has lived with his mother (Brie Larson) since birth. But there’s a much larger world than this 11-by-11-foot room … if Jack and his Ma can break free from their captor. The film is based on a novel by Emma Donoghue, and Larson’s performance as a kidnapping and sexual assault survivor won her an Academy Award.

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The nursery is decorated, the diapers are stocked, and Martha is eager for her first child to arrive. Tragically, the planned home birth ends in the baby’s death and her happy life comes crashing down. Vanessa Kirby gives a career-best performance as a woman picking up the pieces of her life while learning how to live with grief and where—if anywhere—to place blame.

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Allie and Noah are from totally different backgrounds, but that doesn’t stop them from falling in love. Their love story spans decades, and rarely goes smoothly, in this Nicholas Sparks romance starring Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, James Garner, and Gena Rowlands.

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Following his breakout role in the tear-jerker series Normal People, Paul Mescal stars as Calum, a father on vacation with his 11-year-old daughter Sophie. As the two swim and lounge at a seaside resort, Calum takes care to hide his anxiety and depression from Sophie.

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Fire in Paradise captures one of the worst wildfires in U.S. history in horrific detail. The documentary features on-the-ground footage and first-hand interviews of the survivors of 2018’s Camp Fire, which destroyed over 18,000 structures and killed 85 people in Paradise, California.

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After enlisting in World War I with hopes of embarking on an adventure and becoming a national hero, a young German soldier’s glamorized version of war is shattered by the brutality of trench warfare. This adaptation of the acclaimed 1929 novel earned four Oscar nominations.

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Viola Davis is the titular Ma Rainey, the real-life singer known as the Mother of Blues. This film is inspired by Ma Rainey’s career, depicting her and her band’s tense recording sessions in 1920s Chicago. Both Davis and Chadwick Boseman got Oscar nods for their roles.

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In this romantic drama directed by Luca Guadagnino, 17-year-old Elio (Timothee Chalamet) has his summer—and his life—changed when he meets his father’s new assistant, Oliver. As the two grow closer, Elio also finds a deeper connection with his father, his desires, and his family history.

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After Alex loses his memory in an accident as a teenager, he relies on his twin brother, Marcus, to tell him about their childhood. Years later, Alex realizes Marcus painted an idealistic version of his childhood, omitting years-long sexual abuse the two sustained. This documentary follows the brothers as they come to terms with their past—and their relationship with one another.

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Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson star as Charlie and Nicole, a couple whose marriage has fallen apart. As they attempt to co-parent their young son, they must navigate their new relationship with each other in this Noah Baumbach film about how love can change over time.

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Marc and Oliver’s marriage was the envy of their friends. But after Oliver suddenly dies, Marc discovers secrets his husband had kept from him. Schitt’s Creek’s Dan Levy wrote, directed, and starred in this film about love and death.

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Sadness might not be the emotion that comes to mind when you think about Stephen King, but Stand By Me, based on King’s short story The Body, is a coming-of-age tale that tugs at the heartstrings. It begins when a group of boys go on a quest to find the body of a missing boy. On their trek, their personal struggles are revealed to one another in this story about how hard it is to be a kid.

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Tom Hanks has starred in a number of tearjerkers throughout his career: Castaway, Saving Private Ryan, and Toy Story 3, to name a few. A Man Called Otto is no exception—the film follows a man who’s lost enthusiasm for life after his wife’s death, and a family who helps him find hope again.

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Legends of the Fall follows three brothers and spans decades as they experience personal strife, war, love, heartbreak, and grief. The Western melodrama stars Brad Pitt as Tristan, who lives in a remote cabin in Montana with his disillusioned father (Anthony Hopkins).

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When their mother dies in a U.S. air raid, a boy must protect his young sister as World War II wages around them. This Studio Ghibli movie focuses on how war affects everyday people as the siblings navigate food scarcity, homelessness, and bombings.

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Mudbound is the story of two families—one Black, the other white—in rural Mississippi during World War II. The families lean on one another as they face problems such as poverty, illness, PTSD, racism, and addiction, but their relationships with each other never lose tension.

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