The 15 best sad movies streaming on HBO Max

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

The defining accomplishment of Italy’s neorealist period, Bicycle Thieves is deceptively simple: A man gets a job. To do it, he needs a bike. Another man steals his bike. As a moral premise, this is easy, right? After all, Antonio (Lamberto Maggiorani) has a young son and a newborn to feed. But the film’s profundity lies in its understanding that the thief, like so much of postwar Italy’s working class, is in the same boat as Antonio. In other words, the desperation is circular. It’s inevitable that, eventually, Antonio will be desperate enough to steal a bike himself, which is just one of the film’s many brutal ironies. 

Where to watch Bicycle Thieves: HBO Max

Director: Vittorio De Sica

Cast: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell

Brief Encounter (1945)

The emotional themes featured in this British classic are as resonant today as they were in the 1940s. David Lean’s intimate drama follows an unfulfilled married woman (Celia Johnson) who meets a charming married doctor (Trevor Howard) and connects instantly. As they continue to spend more time together, they are tempted to take their relationship to the next level, despite the realities of their home lives.

The push and pull between the union they want and the pressures of society is potent and free of judgment, and Johnson’s soulful eyes tell us everything, even when she’s not saying a word. —Kevin Jacobsen

Where to watch Brief Encounter: HBO Max

Director: David Lean

Cast: Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway

Cries and Whispers (1972)

If you’re looking for sad cinema, Swedish director Ingmar Bergman can help. This harrowing Oscar-nominated drama centers on a pair of sisters, Maria (Liv Ullmann) and Karin (Ingrid Thulin), as they attend to their other sister, Agnes (Harriet Andersson), who is dying of cancer. But the relationship between the siblings is extremely complicated, plagued with jealousy and traumas that make this far from a sentimental tearjerker. Bergman brings his trademark uncompromising realism to the film — as well as a stunning red color palette — making us feel every agonized moan of despair. —K.J.

Where to watch Cries and Whispers: HBO Max

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Cast: Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin, Liv Ullmann, Inga Gill

Dope Sick Love (2005)

Dope Sick Love gets its power from its powerlessness. This unfiltered depiction of two couples experiencing drug problems on the streets of New York — hustling, scoring, surviving — isn’t framed by an inspiring message of recovery. There are no talking-head interviews putting addiction into a moral context, nor are there romanticized vagabonds. Instead, the camera simply observes these lives, which are astonishing in their ugliness, danger, and dread.

The very idea of intervention — by filmmakers, by medical professionals, or by family members on the periphery of these addicts’ lives — is a no-go. What makes the documentary so affecting is that it simply refuses to look away.

Where to watch Dope Sick Love: HBO Max

Directors: Felice Conte, Brent Renaud, Craig Renaud

Every Brilliant Thing (2016)

Every Brilliant Thing, the HBO recording of British comedian Jonny Donahoe’s one-man show, takes pleasure in small moments. The conceit is simple and strangely moving: A young boy creates a list of things that make life worth living to cheer up his depressed mother, who attempted suicide. The performance invites the audience to participate, reading out various bits from the list — “the smell of old books” is one, “sunlight” another — and finding joy in the small things that populate our daily lives. The show’s inherent sorrow is alleviated by Donahoe’s sense of hope, humor, and the notion that being alive is beautiful. 

Where to watch Every Brilliant Thing: HBO Max

EW grade: A–

Directors: Fenton Fox Bailey, Randy Barbato

Cast: Jonny Donahoe

The Fallout (2022)

It’s a tragedy that this sensitive drama about the aftermath of a school shooting is as relevant today as it is. Jenna Ortega stars as Vada, a student struggling to cope with the trauma of an incident at her school in which 16 classmates were killed. The Fallout unflinchingly depicts the difficulties of growing up in a fearful, anxiety-ridden generation, in which senseless violence and the emotional roller coaster of maturing into adulthood are inextricably linked in uncomfortable ways. —K.J.

Where to watch The Fallout: HBO Max

Director: Megan Park

Cast: Jenna Ortega, Maddie Ziegler, Julie Bowen, John Ortiz, Niles Fitch, Shailene Woodley

Ikiru (1952)

What does it mean to truly live? Akira Kurosawa explores this with aching honesty in Ikiru, which tells the story of Kanji Watanabe (Takashi Shimura), an aging bureaucrat who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Despairing over thoughts that he’s wasted his life, Kanji searches for meaning in his remaining months on Earth, finding solace in an optimistic young woman who inspires him to finally make a difference in the world. Tender yet damning in its depiction of soulless bureaucracy, Ikiru is one of the most emotionally wrenching films of all time. —K.J.

Where to watch Ikiru: HBO Max

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Cast: Takashi Shimura, Miki Odagiri

In the Mood for Love (2000)

No film has ever ached quite like In the Mood for Love. Mr. Chow (Tony Leung) and Mrs. Chan (Maggie Cheung) are doomed, seeking each other’s company because their unfaithful spouses aren’t around. A shared loneliness evolves into an overwhelming need, but their love can never be spoken or acted upon, hiding underneath a thin façade in polite society, circa 1962. There’s a good reason this is considered one of the best movies ever made, and if any romance is likely to consume you with regret for the one that got away, this is it.

Where to watch In the Mood for Love: HBO Max

EW grade: B+

Director: Wong Kar-wai

Cast: Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, Rebecca Pan

Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999)

Only three years before Halle Berry became the first Black woman to win the Best Actress Oscar, she portrayed the first-ever Black woman nominated in that category: Dorothy Dandridge. This HBO TV movie documents Dandridge’s difficult life beyond the glamour of Hollywood, from tumultuous marriages to mismanaged career choices. Berry portrays Dandridge as wounded but tenacious, a complex person in an industry that didn’t always know what to do with her. It’s a tragic story, but well worth a watch to witness Berry’s performance, which won her an Emmy and a Golden Globe award. —K.J.

Where to watch Introducing Dorothy Dandridge: HBO Max

Director: Martha Coolidge

Cast: Halle Berry, Brent Spiner, Obba Babatundé, Loretta Devine, LaTanya Richardson

Secrets & Lies (1996)

Mike Leigh understands the lives of everyday people more than most directors working today, as evidenced by this highly emotional, Oscar-nominated drama. The film follows a young Black woman named Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), who wishes to connect to her white birth mother, Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn). While Cynthia doesn’t believe Hortense’s claims at first, she comes to accept the truth while also juggling her dysfunctional relationship with her family. Blethyn’s fragile performance makes Secrets & Lies a shattering watch, as Leigh explores working-class problems in sobering fashion. —K.J.

Where to watch Secrets & Lies: HBO Max

Director: Mike Leigh

Cast: Brenda Blethyn, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Timothy Spall, Phyllis Logan, Claire Rushbrook

Sorry, Baby (2025)

One of the best traits of this indie darling is how it never feels like it’s trying to emotionally manipulate the audience, yet its storytelling is tremendously moving nonetheless. Eva Victor wrote, directed, and stars in this dramedy about a young college professor struggling with depression after suffering a traumatic event years ago. As she tries to move forward with her life, she also attempts to define how she feels about what’s happened to her. “It’s complicated and unassuming in the same beat,” writes EW’s critic, calling the film “one of the most thoughtful and unforgettable of the year.” —K.J.

Where to watch Sorry, Baby: HBO Max

Director: Eva Victor

Cast: Eva Victor, Naomi Ackie, Louis Cancelmi, Kelly McCormack, Lucas Hedges

Watership Down (1978)

As anyone who’s seen it (or read the source material) will tell you, Watership Down isn’t your standard kid-friendly fare about cute bunnies getting into adventures. The British animated film follows a group of rabbits who flee after one of their own has a premonition of their warren’s destruction. Venturing out to find new shelter, the rabbits face an increasingly dangerous world full of predators and hope to find peace again. EW listed Watership Down as one of the best adaptations of a children’s book, calling it a “rare kind of animated movie that’s unhurried — even poetic — in its attempts to grab your attention.” —K.J.

Where to watch Watership Down: HBO Max

Director: Martin Rosen

Cast: John Hurt, Richard Briers, Michael Graham Cox, Simon Cadell, Zero Mostel

We Live in Time (2024)

This time-hopping drama follows the highs and lows of a relationship, with Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh giving some of their most heartfelt performances on film to date. The actors star as recent divorcé Tobias (Garfield) and ice skater-turned-chef Almut (Pugh), who fall in love and hope to have children, though a diagnosis threatens to disrupt their plans. Those who love the earnest, bittersweet tone of This Is Us will find a lot to like about We Live in Time, including its cleverly constructed nonlinear narrative and the sincere chemistry between Garfield and Pugh. —K.J.

Where to watch We Live in Time: HBO Max

Director: John Crowley

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Florence Pugh

Wit (2001)

Emma Thompson delivers one of her most moving performances in this smartly written TV movie. The Oscar winner stars as Vivian Bearing, a brilliant English professor who is diagnosed with terminal ovarian cancer. Grappling with her new reality, Vivian tries to retain her strength while reckoning with her life’s work. Though there is an inherent sadness in its premise, Wit is indeed worthy of its title, a witty, clear-eyed look at life and death that forgoes easy sentiment. —K.J.

Where to watch Wit: HBO Max

Director: Mike Nichols

Cast: Emma Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, Audra McDonald, Eileen Atkins

A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

John Cassavetes’ portrait of a woman unraveling is a raw, unflinching examination of depression and marriage. Gena Rowlands plays Mabel, a housewife whose mental illness puts a strain on her relationship with her husband, Nick (Peter Falk). As Mabel’s erratic behavior intensifies, Nick faces difficult decisions to get his wife proper treatment. Rowlands’ performance is shattering, giving us a deeply vulnerable look into Mabel’s fractured psyche. —K.J.

Where to watch A Woman Under the Influence: HBO Max

Director: John Cassavetes

Cast: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk