10 Sad Historical Romance Movies For When You Need a Good Cry

Swoon Hub
Movies
Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedInShare on Flip it

Have you ever just wanted to cry? Wanted to watch a terribly sad movie and just bawl? Sometimes you might be looking for a historical romance movie that just makes you want to cry!

10 Sad Historical Romance Movies

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Image Credit: Kerry Brown / Netflix.

Recently, someone asked on Reddit, “I have searched everywhere to find a period film that would make me cry and would highly likely leave me devastated afterward, but I haven’t seen any that catch my interest.

So if any of you know any historical romance film that has at least one really good crying and/or screaming from emotional pain scene, please do share.”

 

Here are some of the best recommendations:

 

Testament of Youth

Testament of Youth.
Image Credit: Sony Pictures Classics.

This World War I drama is about a young British woman who falls in love during a time of war. Redditor  smolita_1597 said, “Had to pause the movie, I was a wreck.”

 

Atonement

Atonement
Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

Atonement is a 2007 romantic war drama film that follows two lovers whose lives are torn apart by a lie. Redditor thefriendlyfarter says,  “One of my favorite books and movies. And the movie composition music is to die for with that typewriter work. Also convinced my husband to watch it once because of world war II scenes (that one-shot scene is everything).”

The Painted Veil (2006)

The Painted Veil (2006)
Image Credit: Warner Bros.

Shunned by a husband who’s more interested in his scientific research than his marriage,  Kitty Fane embarks on a quest for fulfillment while they travel to China in the 1920s to fight the Cholera Pandemic.

Redditor Tall-woolfe says, “Painted Veil (2006) is a pretty good tear-jerker”.

The Duchess

The Duchess.
Image Credit: Paramount.
The Duchess is about the Duchess of Devonshire, a bright, popular aristocrat who is trapped in a failed marriage. This movie is based on the life of the real Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire.
Redditor millennium_magic says, “I love this movie; it’s beautiful and tragic in just the right way.”

The Road Dance (2021)

The Road Dance (2021).
Image Credit: Highland Road Films.
A young girl lives in the Outer Hebrides in a small village in the years just before WWI. Isolated and hard by the shore, her life takes a dramatic change when a terrible tragedy befalls her.

Little England (2013)

Little England (2013)
Image Credit: Mikra Anglia.
A tale of lost love and rivalry between sisters, set on the Greek island of Andros at the beginning of the 20th century.

The Deep Blue Sea (2011)

The Deep Blue Sea (2011).
Image Credit: Camberwell / Fly Films.
Flashbacks reveal the destructive love affair between the wife of a British judge and a rakish RAF pilot.

Jude (1996)

Jude (1996).
Image Credit: BBC.

 

In late 1800s England, a tragic and forbidden love story between two distant cousins. Aggravating_Depth_33 says this movie (and book) is  “Insanely depressing.”

Sommersby

 

Jodie Foster and Richard Gere in Sommersby (1993).
Image Credit: Warner Bros.
Particular-Message73 nominated Sommersby, which is about a man who returns to his hometown after a long absence spent fighting in the US Civil War. They said this movie was the “First time I bawled my eyes out in the movie theatre.”

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Image Credit: Kerry Brown / Netflix.
In 1946, a London-based writer begins exchanging letters with residents on the island of Guernsey, which was German-occupied during WWII.

12 TV Shows That Started Off Amazing but Became Unwatchable

Kim Dickens as Madison Clark - Fear the Walking Dead _ Season 8, Episode 6.
Photo Credit: Lauren “Lo” Smith/AMC.

Sometimes shows start off great but then, for whatever reason, change their format. We wanted to know what people felt were the worst culprits for TV shows that started off amazing but became unwatchable later on. As always, the internet’s answers didn’t disappoint.

12 TV Shows That Started off Amazing but Became Unwatchable

12 TV Shows That Are Often Called “The Best TV Show Ever”

Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson in Mad Men.
Photo Credit: Michael Yarish/AMC.

This is such a subjective topic. While I’d love to share my thoughts on the best TV show ever, I thought it would be better to scour the internet to find out what, in your opinion, is the best show ever from a variety of fans.

12 Shows Often Called “The Best TV Show Ever”

The Abrupt Endings of These 8 Netflix Shows That Left Viewers Unsatisfied

Timothy Olyphant, Drew Barrymore in Santa Clarita Diet Season 2
Image Credit: Saeed Adyani/Netflix.

The worst part of having your favorite show canceled is that you never get to see the ending and never find out what happened to all the characters. If there was a good ending, the fans might not be upset!

The Abrupt Endings of These 8 Netflix Shows That Left Viewers Unsatisfied

10 Overrated Netflix Shows That Didn’t Live Up to the Hype

Outer Banks. Rudy Pankow as JJ in episode 303 of Outer Banks
Image Credit: JACKSON LEE DAVIS/NETFLIX.

Ever watched a show that was so hyped up but you thought was terrible? The show everyone was talking about and watching and you just couldn’t see the appeal? That was the question posted on Reddit, “Which Netflix show is overrated?”

9 Most Overrated Netflix Shows

7 True Crime Shows on Netflix That Are Criminally Addictive

Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives. Sarma Melngailis in Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix.

Love learning about real-life crime and can’t get enough? Netflix has become the go-to for binge-able series about crimes and the criminals who commit them.

7 True Crime Shows on Netflix That Are Criminally Addictive

This post originally appeared on Swoon Hub.

 

1 thought on “10 Sad Historical Romance Movies For When You Need a Good Cry”

  1. I’m with ya. Now they may not be what you are looking for but a few you should not watch in English so subtitled. Millennium actress, memoirs of a geisha. If I watch in English my eyes are dry. They’re languages n I’m goo. Was going to suggest Graveyard of Fireflies but it’s not romance. Same thing. English is out there but you won’t get the feels the same.

    House of spirits is an insanely underrated movie. I’ve watched it several times and swear I’ve cried watching it but don’t recall why. ???

    Tuck Everlasting not bad. Not intense though. Ugh I know they are there. I’m reviewing my list n just typing as I go. Lol

    Crazy I swear no one knows of. Fire 1996 a forbidden lesbian couple in arranged marriages. Middle eastern. Was on tv saw twice when young but missed some of it at different times. Must see as an adult.

    Oh! Oh! Oh! I don’t like westerns but omg Ballad of little Jo. 🔪❤️ it’s my fav one. Maybe my only one. It’s pre boys don’t cry.

    Anastasia the cartoon soaks me in tears every time. Ugh! Love it!!!

    Man trying to think of things specific n it seems I’m often in the same boat. I’m sure you’ve seen titanic. Water for elephants is good. Hmmm

    Reply

Leave a Comment