I've always been a scifi enjoyer when it comes to books and I've never read much more outside of that, but I realize that the movies I like don't necessarily have to be scifi, I usually enjoy familiar dramas, thrillers and such. I'm in a place right now where I'm a bit scifi burnt and I want to branch out to other genres and styles, so here are some of my faves and some movies that, despite not being my fave, have a place in my heart.
My favorite movies:
Aftersun, The Hunt, Perfect Days, Manchester by the Sea, Whiplash, The Celebration, Marriage Story, Children of Men, Arrival, Her, Requiem For A Dream…
Movies that I feel are special:
Being John Malkovich, Tangerine, Past Lives, Marcel the Shell, Detachment, Das Leben der Anderen, A Separation, Mass, Good Time, Fantastic Mr Fox, Eternal Sunshine, Before Sunrise…
I also love movies that make me cry, but I think I may have cried once or twice with books. I know this may be hard to answer, but are there any particular novels that come to mind?
by Mountain-Web42
7 Comments
Family dramas: anything Tracey Lange writes.
Oh wow, think we have some overlap in our movie preferences. If you like Arrival, I highly recommend **Stories of Your Life** by Ted Chiang, in which the movie is based off of the title short story.
I also liked **The Vegetarian** by Han Kang, **Station Eleven** by Emily St. John Mandel and **Winter in Sokcho** by Elisha Shua Dusapin (if you liked Past Lives and Her). I can see these having similar themes in the movies you liked.
A Little Life is what I immediately thought of, based on your likes.
If you liked Children of Men:
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Ellison
The White Plague by Frank Herbert
Children of Men is also a novel.
The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
These aren’t one for one but are vibe check recommendations, imo:
Children of Men – I Who Have Never Known Men or The Road
Manchester By The Sea – read the book, OR try On Chesil Beach, or Atonement (the frustration of atonement might make you cry)
Requiem For A Dream – The Naked Lunch
Marriage Story – Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (not misery porn but might make you cry), or Lady Chattersley’s Lover or The English Patient or Fleishman Is In Trouble (most apt I think)
Arrival – Left Hand of Darkness, The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, Recursion, Sea of Tranquility (most fitting / highest rec from me on that last one!)
If you really wanna cry like a baby try A Thousand Splendid Suns. I think you might also like and/or be moved by Song of Achilles.
– The Vegetarian by Han Kang
– Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates
– The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
– The People In The Trees by Hanya Yanagihara
The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne made me both laugh and cry and kept me emotionally invested in the life of the main protagonist. It has a bittersweet feel to it rounding off a tale full of love, misery, heartache and hope. I can picture and kind of hope this book does get adapted to the screen and if it ever does, the screen version will do it justice.