sometimes we’re just in the mood for a
really sad true story welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top ten
documentaries that will make you cry
before we begin we publish new content
every day so be sure to subscribe to our
Channel and ring the bell to get
notified about our latest videos for
this list we’re looking for the saddest
stories told by documentaries since we
know that sometimes the ending is the
saddest part we’re also putting up a
large spoiler warning
we’ll be excluding documentaries that
make us happy cry so as much as we may
have loved mr. Rogers we can’t be his
neighbor today get your tissues ready
number 10 Earthlings animals are a part
of our everyday lives and all around us
woven into nearly everything we do while
many of us have pets or love a trip to
the zoo if you really think about what
roles animals really play in human life
this documentary looks at the uglier
sides of how animals help mankind not
just puppy mills and pet stores but also
how we use them to create our food
clothing entertainment and research what
insights an animal to do something
unnatural this film isn’t just about
animal cruelty it also draws parallels
between humankind’s treatment of animals
and their treatment of each other and
the truths are certainly not pretty
number 9 terry pratchet choosing to die
conversations about death are never
happy subjects whether one believes in
assisted suicide or not the truth of the
matter is there are people in this world
who are suffering enough that they no
longer want to be alive presented by
author terry pratchett this documentary
gives an intimate look into the lives of
some of these people and the motivations
behind their choices take your time you
can always say no I understand that most
controversial is the ending of the film
where viewers get to witness one of the
interviewees take a lethal drug and pass
away surrounded by the author the
interviewees wife and the Swiss company
overseeing the whole process number
eight we were here the hiv/aids epidemic
and its ravages on the lgbtq+ community
are generally thought of as a contained
moment and disease while most
documentaries such as Silver Lake Life
explore this idea with tear-filled
results we were
takes a notably different approach the
first time I heard about aids I think
was called the gay cancer
we had friends who were dying right at
the beginning
it still tells the stories of those
affected by the epidemic and those who
died but it’s through the eyes of five
individuals who moved alongside the
victims because of this were given an
idea of how their deaths affected the
community and humanity as a whole and
word just contained to a single
community none of my friends are around
for the beginning so I want to tell
their story number seven the times of
Harvey Milk the first openly gay man
elected to public office in California
Harvey Milk was notably in the middle of
the gay rights movement in the 1970s
working toward those in the career
community being able to keep their jobs
even if they were outed both mayor
Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk have
been shot and killed
he was also assassinated by his coworker
and fellow town supervisor Dan White who
stood trial and was convicted of
manslaughter
the documentary tells milks story with a
collection of news reports archive
footage and interviews as if Harvey Milk
were still alive to tell his story and
today number six The Cove the world fell
in love with dolphins in part perhaps
thanks to a small TV show called flipper
dolphins of course are known for their
childlike antics and cute fishy smiles
which might actually be a problem told
by Ric O’Barry one of the trainers from
the series The Cove looks at the
treatment of dolphins off the coast of
Taiji Japan this is not a documentary
for the faint of heart
as the footage of animal cruelty is
shown in a raw and shocking fashion
reminding us that when humans come in
contact with animals it’s not always fun
and games so the way to stop that is
keep exposing this to the world
eventually the Japanese government will
say look this is not working it’s a PR
nightmare number five the bridge there’s
no mistaking the beauty of the Golden
Gate Bridge with its bright orange color
and long graceful suspensions one only
has to show its image to make others
think of San Francisco with its sunlit
beaches and stunning coastline however
under that beauty the bridge is also
known as one of the most famous places
in the u.s. to commit suicide
by which people plunge into the waters
below the second my hands left the
bucket the bar at the railing I said I
wanna die this documentary explores the
many reasons people have chosen to jump
off this bridge and those who are left
behind by such tragic actions number
four
Bulgaria’s abandoned children the
subject of adoption is generally painted
as a rosy world where well-off parents
give a home to children who just have to
wait for the right family to come along
what is generally ignored are the
conditions these children come from and
what happens to those who are never
adopted and forgotten in majula no
Bulgaria the home of these children is
one of the largest employers and yet
still the children live in deplorable
conditions with no hope of change or
relief in sight equally heartbreaking is
the documentary children underground
which follows the consequences of
Romania’s controversial banning of birth
control and abortion number three for
little girls
in 1963 the KKK bombed the 16th Street
Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama
resulting in the deaths of the four
titular little girls made by Spike Lee
this documentary covers that in
Levent and the resulting Civil Rights
Act of 1964 along with other racially
charged attacks until the 90s because we
hatred and radical divides have a habit
of returning to the public consciousness
again and again no matter what the time
period with events such as the
Charleston Church shooting which
happened years after this film
documentaries like this one have a sad
and timeless message to tell number two
Shoah the longest documentary on our
list Shoah took 11 years to make to be
ultimately edited to something
approaching nine and a half hours this
runtime allows the film to explore the
sheer tragedy of the Holocaust in
excruciating depth woven between
interviews with survivors and witnesses
is the story of notorious sights in
Poland beyond the scope of the often
mentioned concentration camps you today
Giudice and the family wants some burial
they have to pay tax on it so they just
throw them in the street it shows that
the deaths and atrocities weren’t
limited to those sectioned off camps and
their effects on people and the country
as a whole are still very real issues
being dealt with number one dear Zachary
a letter to a son about his father not
just focused on the singular death of
Andrew Bagby this documentary runs the
gamut of emotions
what started as a film memory for
Andrews yet to be born son twists into a
story of separation deceit and murder
that sounds like it belongs in the pages
of fiction rather than real life what’s
notable about this piece is it was never
meant to be shared with the world but
instead started as a very personal
project with one specific audience in
unfortunately with the terrible and
tragic twist at the end it’s painfully
obvious why the project was given a much
ah I’ll tell you about it someday do you
agree with our picks check out these
other great clips from watch mojo and be
sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos
really sad true story welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top ten
documentaries that will make you cry
before we begin we publish new content
every day so be sure to subscribe to our
Channel and ring the bell to get
notified about our latest videos for
this list we’re looking for the saddest
stories told by documentaries since we
know that sometimes the ending is the
saddest part we’re also putting up a
large spoiler warning
we’ll be excluding documentaries that
make us happy cry so as much as we may
have loved mr. Rogers we can’t be his
neighbor today get your tissues ready
number 10 Earthlings animals are a part
of our everyday lives and all around us
woven into nearly everything we do while
many of us have pets or love a trip to
the zoo if you really think about what
roles animals really play in human life
this documentary looks at the uglier
sides of how animals help mankind not
just puppy mills and pet stores but also
how we use them to create our food
clothing entertainment and research what
insights an animal to do something
unnatural this film isn’t just about
animal cruelty it also draws parallels
between humankind’s treatment of animals
and their treatment of each other and
the truths are certainly not pretty
number 9 terry pratchet choosing to die
conversations about death are never
happy subjects whether one believes in
assisted suicide or not the truth of the
matter is there are people in this world
who are suffering enough that they no
longer want to be alive presented by
author terry pratchett this documentary
gives an intimate look into the lives of
some of these people and the motivations
behind their choices take your time you
can always say no I understand that most
controversial is the ending of the film
where viewers get to witness one of the
interviewees take a lethal drug and pass
away surrounded by the author the
interviewees wife and the Swiss company
overseeing the whole process number
eight we were here the hiv/aids epidemic
and its ravages on the lgbtq+ community
are generally thought of as a contained
moment and disease while most
documentaries such as Silver Lake Life
explore this idea with tear-filled
results we were
takes a notably different approach the
first time I heard about aids I think
was called the gay cancer
we had friends who were dying right at
the beginning
it still tells the stories of those
affected by the epidemic and those who
died but it’s through the eyes of five
individuals who moved alongside the
victims because of this were given an
idea of how their deaths affected the
community and humanity as a whole and
word just contained to a single
community none of my friends are around
for the beginning so I want to tell
their story number seven the times of
Harvey Milk the first openly gay man
elected to public office in California
Harvey Milk was notably in the middle of
the gay rights movement in the 1970s
working toward those in the career
community being able to keep their jobs
even if they were outed both mayor
Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk have
been shot and killed
he was also assassinated by his coworker
and fellow town supervisor Dan White who
stood trial and was convicted of
manslaughter
the documentary tells milks story with a
collection of news reports archive
footage and interviews as if Harvey Milk
were still alive to tell his story and
today number six The Cove the world fell
in love with dolphins in part perhaps
thanks to a small TV show called flipper
dolphins of course are known for their
childlike antics and cute fishy smiles
which might actually be a problem told
by Ric O’Barry one of the trainers from
the series The Cove looks at the
treatment of dolphins off the coast of
Taiji Japan this is not a documentary
for the faint of heart
as the footage of animal cruelty is
shown in a raw and shocking fashion
reminding us that when humans come in
contact with animals it’s not always fun
and games so the way to stop that is
keep exposing this to the world
eventually the Japanese government will
say look this is not working it’s a PR
nightmare number five the bridge there’s
no mistaking the beauty of the Golden
Gate Bridge with its bright orange color
and long graceful suspensions one only
has to show its image to make others
think of San Francisco with its sunlit
beaches and stunning coastline however
under that beauty the bridge is also
known as one of the most famous places
in the u.s. to commit suicide
by which people plunge into the waters
below the second my hands left the
bucket the bar at the railing I said I
wanna die this documentary explores the
many reasons people have chosen to jump
off this bridge and those who are left
behind by such tragic actions number
four
Bulgaria’s abandoned children the
subject of adoption is generally painted
as a rosy world where well-off parents
give a home to children who just have to
wait for the right family to come along
what is generally ignored are the
conditions these children come from and
what happens to those who are never
adopted and forgotten in majula no
Bulgaria the home of these children is
one of the largest employers and yet
still the children live in deplorable
conditions with no hope of change or
relief in sight equally heartbreaking is
the documentary children underground
which follows the consequences of
Romania’s controversial banning of birth
control and abortion number three for
little girls
in 1963 the KKK bombed the 16th Street
Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama
resulting in the deaths of the four
titular little girls made by Spike Lee
this documentary covers that in
Levent and the resulting Civil Rights
Act of 1964 along with other racially
charged attacks until the 90s because we
hatred and radical divides have a habit
of returning to the public consciousness
again and again no matter what the time
period with events such as the
Charleston Church shooting which
happened years after this film
documentaries like this one have a sad
and timeless message to tell number two
Shoah the longest documentary on our
list Shoah took 11 years to make to be
ultimately edited to something
approaching nine and a half hours this
runtime allows the film to explore the
sheer tragedy of the Holocaust in
excruciating depth woven between
interviews with survivors and witnesses
is the story of notorious sights in
Poland beyond the scope of the often
mentioned concentration camps you today
Giudice and the family wants some burial
they have to pay tax on it so they just
throw them in the street it shows that
the deaths and atrocities weren’t
limited to those sectioned off camps and
their effects on people and the country
as a whole are still very real issues
being dealt with number one dear Zachary
a letter to a son about his father not
just focused on the singular death of
Andrew Bagby this documentary runs the
gamut of emotions
what started as a film memory for
Andrews yet to be born son twists into a
story of separation deceit and murder
that sounds like it belongs in the pages
of fiction rather than real life what’s
notable about this piece is it was never
meant to be shared with the world but
instead started as a very personal
project with one specific audience in
unfortunately with the terrible and
tragic twist at the end it’s painfully
obvious why the project was given a much
ah I’ll tell you about it someday do you
agree with our picks check out these
other great clips from watch mojo and be
sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos
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