Random Top Five Depressing Films List

I must admit that film fans love making lists, and nowhere is that more apparent than "Film Comment" magazine, which features several lists in his front pages these days.

Here is a random list I made of the five most depressing films I've ever seen. Since I wrote it up in a mere five minutes, there are assuredly some downers I have overlooked....."Sounder" comes to mind.

All of these films are either foreign films or documentaries and "Night and Fog," a 1955 French documentary on The Holocaust is actually both!

I made the mistake of watching "The Bridge," a documentary about people who killed themselves by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco the same week I went to The Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. (I don't recommend doing that). One of the people who committed suicide actually flew in from Houston to jump off the bridge.

"Pixote" is a 1981 Brazilian film about a boy whose mother is a prostitute (it will make the Apu triology seem uplifting!). It was so depressing that I literally could not get out of bed the day after I watched it.

The film's young star Fernando Ramos da Silva (1967-1987) would die from gun violence when police shot him to death at the age of 19. "Pixote" was his only film. the film's director Hector Babenco went on to make "Kiss of the Spiderwoman" and other critically-praised films.

"Streetwise" is a documentary about homeless people in Seattle. The plight of the children in the film make it especially difficult to watch.

And, "At/The Horse," a film which came out some 20 years ago from acclaimed director Ali Ozgenturk, is about a destitute Turkish villager who moves from the country to Istanbul with his son.

Amazingly enough, no German or Russian films made this list!:



1. "The Bridge" (doc)
2. "Streetwise" (doc)
3. "Pixote"
4. "Night and Fog"
5. "At/The Horse."

PS_ After publishing this post, I decided to look to see if there was a group involved with preventing suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge. And, there is indeed a Golden Gate Suicide Barrier Coalition. Their web site is www.goldengatecitizens.com/suicide