As I have gotten older I am not afraid of having a good old fashioned ugly cry in the cinemas when the time calls for it, and hell I probably got emotional just writing this list (Spoiler: I did). Sometimes they are tears of grief, sometimes they are tears of joy, and even still sometimes they are tears of anger. 

Emotion is a core part of the cinema experience, and if you can’t get us to emotionally respond to your characters and/or the situation, well then I am sorry you have failed in making a good film.

So without further ado, these are the films of 2019 that emotionally wrecked us. Be warned that there will be some big spoilers ahead for the films in question. Also, you can click on the banners to go to the full review.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

The ending where everyone gets their happy ending is a moment where you are in this moment of joy as tears roll down your cheeks because while you were happy there is a knowledge that it is now the end.

Directed by – Dean DeBlois
Written by – Dean DeBlois

The Australian Dream

This is a hard film to watch as you watch your own country tear down a man for daring to say that they should not use racial slurs against him.  

Directed by – Daniel Gordon
Written by – Stan Grant

The Farewell (Bié Gàosù Tā, 別告訴她)

This is a deeply complicated film because it deals with family and at its core family is deeply complicated.   
Directed by – Lulu Wang
Written by – Lulu Wang

The Hate U Give

There is a combination of anger and sadness that permeates this film as you see the outcome coming and you can’t do a damned thing to stop it.
Directed by – George Tillman Jr.
Screenplay by – Audrey Wells

Weathering with You (Tenki no Ko, 天気の子)

There are moments in this film where I was overwhelmed by its sheer beauty.      
Directed by – Makoto Shinkai
Written by – Makoto Shinkai

And the Winner is!!!!!

This is a film that affected me in ways that I didn’t know or expect. It is a deeply complicated film as it plays with emotions that can be very raw at times. It deals with the ethics of lies and what they mean. It deals with the complicated nature of families and what they mean to each other. It deals with the issues of finding who you are when you don’t know who you really are. It hit me in a place that I didn’t know I had and that makes it a very rare film.  

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

What are your favourite cinematic moments from 2018?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day. 

Credits – All images used were created by the respective studio and artist of each film