The recently released Banshees Of Inisherin delivered one of the darkest tales about friendship as two long-term friends abruptly become enemies in a remote Irish village haunted by the shadow of war.
Movies about friendships tend to be moving but not always in a negative, heartbreaking way. They often celebrate the mutual love shared by pals who can always count on each other. On the other hand, there are a few great movies about the melancholic side of friendship -- tragic stories revolving around people who are drawn to each other by traumatic events or moving companionships that are faded to end. These are beautiful movies that are guaranteed to make anyone cry.
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)
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Both the book and the movie The Perks Of Being A Wallflower shaped a whole generation of rebellious teenagers, and although the film addresses with nostalgia and energy the beautiful relationship that introvert Charlie develops with two seniors who welcome him to a life worth living, it suddenly takes a dark turn.
The film ends on a depressing note, as a dark truth about Charlie's past is revealed, reopening wounds that are difficult to pull through. Hopefully, the final scene delivers an emotional message about the joyful moments that come after the suffering, showing Charlie finally healing from his traumatic childhood.
Mysterious Skin (2004)
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Mysterious Skin unveils a dark teenage underworld with two completely different protagonists, bonded by the same traumatic past.
Neil is a gay hustler with low ambitions and a genuine desire to leave his hometown behind. Brian is a teenage loner, sure that he was abducted by aliens at an early age. A shocking yet liberating truth is uncovered when the two cross paths. Mysterious Skin is one of the rawest movies about how childhood abuse has the potential to cause irreparable damage. It's a bleak, tragic movie that addresses the darkest themes one can think of, all of which Gregg Araki conducts delicately.
Mystic River (2003)
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Clint Eastwood reflects on the decaying American Dream through the perspective of three estranged friends who were inseparable when kids, now forced to reunite after one of them has to go through a horrifying family tragedy.
With harrowing performances from Sean Penn and Tim Robbins, Mystic River delivers one of the most upsetting endings in movie history, a tragic and impactful confrontation between long-term friends that end up with tragic consequences. One of the best movies about empathy and trauma of the 2000s and is worthy of its six Oscar nominations.
Nitram (2021)
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There were many ways the devastating Port Arthur Massacre could've been addressed in this film, but director Justin Kurzel decided to go with a delicate, emotionally gut-wrenching approach revolving around the touching friendship between Helen, a wealthy older woman, and Martin, a tormented young boy who would eventually become a mass shooter.
The most heartbreaking thing about Nitram is how different Martin's life could've been if his friendship with Helen hadn't come to such an abrupt end. The biggest tragedy of the film is witnessing how he could have eventually found his redemption, but a succession of devastating setbacks only worsens his troubled mind.
Heartstone (2016)
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Heartstone follows the lives of Thór and Kristján, two best friends in a remote fishing village in Iceland, where they experience a summer full of new discoveries as Thór tries to win the heart of the girl he loves and Kristján comes to terms with his sexuality.
From beginning to end, Heartstone has a chilling atmosphere that seems to absorb every single frustration of teenage life, and the Icelandic landscape helps a lot when capturing the vastness of each character's loneliness. The film escalates into a tragic event with a huge impact on the small community, changing forever the lives of the inseparable Thór and Kristján.
Mean Creek (2004)
Rent On Prime Video
Easily one of the gloomiest teen movies ever made, Mean Creek tells the unsettling story about a group of teens who come up with a plan to play a trick on the school bully, but when the prank goes too far, unexpected consequences threaten to cause the group to splinter.
Counting on brilliant child performances, Mean Creek is a cruel movie about friendship in the face of the most dreadful situation one can think of. The anxiety-inducing initial hour added to the desolation and despair that fills the second half of the movie is truly heartbreaking, the type of story that will leave viewers in a state of existential dread.
Drive My Car (2021)
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Unanimously praised as one of the best movies of 2021, Drive My Car is an intimate drama about two lost souls finding comfort in each other through a relationship of admiration and trust. In the film, a grieving stage actor and director struggle to come to terms with the death of his wife and develops a genuine friendship with a quiet woman appointed to drive him around.
The narrative has a sorrowful tone from beginning to end, with tragedy standing out as a desolate, yet necessary evil that ties the lives of Yusuke and Misaki together. Although Drive My Car ends on a sad note, it also hints at a spark of hope, the importance of letting go of the past and grasping the present before it slips away.
All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)
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No better movie captures the cyber-reality of teenagers taking out their angst on the internet as All About Lily Chou-Chou. With online communities on the rise, the movie revolves around the friendship of two boys bonded by the shared online praise for an artist named Lily Chou-Chou in contrast with their frail relationship in real life.
All About Lily Chou-Chou gets as dark as a teen movie can get, with tragic consequences as the two friends grow increasingly distant from each other. The film is a cruel portrayal of a generation that grew up in a technologically advanced era, with a catchy soundtrack and a range of painfully relatable characters.
Stand By Me (1986)
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One of the must-watch classic movies from the '80s, Stand By Me is a movie more harmful to think about than watch. Told from the perspective of a writer reminiscing about his childhood, the movie follows four friends who set out to see a dead body in the woods.
For most of its runtime, Stand By Me is a high-spirited adventure movie about friendship and childhood nostalgia, but as the heartbreaking final scene kicks in, it reveals to be a painful ode to powerful bonds lost with time.
Close (2022)
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Close absolutely devastated audiences at this year's Cannes Film Festival, a sensorial movie about the long-term friendship between two sensitive boys that begins to crumble after the intimacy of their relationship is questioned by their schoolmates.
The movie faces a huge tonal shift halfway through, and from there on, it's difficult to hold back the tears. A low-key LGBTQ+ film, Close addresses matters of sexuality subjectively, touching on relevant subjects such as guilt and loss from the perspective of a boy entering his adolescence, trying to recover from the tragic end of a friendship that meant the world to him.