Attempts to explain five films that inexplicably make me cry and other musings

After four years of mixed interest, I finally sat down to watch Superman Returns on the blu-ray.  The disc was annoyingly scratched, disrupting the flow of opening 30 minutes (grr, bloody lovefilm, that's three out of the last five that have had sub-par maintance).  Despite this, I was absolutely besotted by the first half of the film.  I even got so absorbed into the nostalgic-tinged drama that I felt my eyes welling up after the baseball stadium sequence.  Superman had turned his back on Earth and here he was saving the day and being warmly embraced back into the fold, as if he never left.  Touching, no?

I cry in a lot of movies.  I've been accused of crying too much and at some very odd films.  So here is my attempt to justify some of the more recent oddities.  Let's get the more explainable ones out of the way first.

1) Chico & Rita - Okay, not much to explain here.  If you've ever found it plausible that someone could cry over Casablanca, then you'll understand this.  This film revolves around one of those mythic cinema "meant-to-be" couples and of course, they keep getting driven apart.  What makes Chico & Rita refreshing though is that the wedge this time isn't any unforeseeable evil force/villain, but instead the actions of the couple themselves.

2) Ponyo - There are three moments in this delightful children's film that thaw that icy heart o' mine.  First, there is a sequence early on in which Ponyo, our underwater protagonist, in the process of escaping from her father (and his dreadful taste in fashion) makes her way to a busy coastal harbour.  In her attempts to escape the oncoming boating traffic, she becomes ensnared in one of those plastic six-pack holder thingys.  Yep, mild peril of the highest degree!  Obviously, I was a fish in a previous life.  A second escape attempt sees Ponyo, desperate to return to the shore and her new friend Sosuke, disturbs the fragile balance of the ocean, causing great waves to batter the port town in which Sosuke lives.  This upsets me jsut because Ponyo is so unaware of the consequences of her actions and furthermore, the danger she is putting all of the townsfolk in.  Finally, the film's conclusion makes me cry, mainly because of how final it is. Ponyo makes her choice.  She can never go home in the same way again.  Her relationship with her family has shifted and it is only in time that she can conclude whether this was the right choice or not.

3) Robocop/Wall-E - I'm tying these two together because they work on a similar theme.  There's a moment about two thirds into Robocop, in which our titular hero, plagued by visions of his former life, returns to his former home.  His family, thinking him dead (which he kinda is) have moved on and sold the house.  Robocop wanders the empty hallways, confronted by his burgeoning memories.  Now, although, much like Ponyo, there is an aspect of the finality of his situation (he had his perfect idyllic life and he can never get that back), I think what upsets me more is how he has loss much more than his prior life - he has lost himself.  I am also a man that, not only cries like a child at the ending of Wall-E, I would have changed it so that he doesn't get his memories (ergo himself) magically back.  Yes, I wanted all the kids to leave that cinema sobbing uncontrollably (to make myself look slightly less pathetic).

4) Hugo - So this one might not seem much of a surprise, but I have to stress that what makes me cry in this film isn't anything to do with plot or the emotion of the characters or anything tangibly about the film.  It's just Ben Kingsley.  Literally.  As soon as he's on screen, the tears start following.  He doesn't even have to say anything.  He can stand as mute as a toenail and I'll be upset.  It just seems to be his performance in this film.  Crazy.

5) Moneyball - There's a montage a third into the film where Jonah Hill starts explaining sabermetrics.  It's an incredibly edited sequence consisting of spreadsheets, grainy black and white photos and Jonah Hill's voice.  It cuts straight to the narrative heart of the film - people judge others not by their true value, whether that be their pitching skill or their skills as a friend, but by superficial affections which result in many of us never fulfilling our potential.  Life eh? It's a bitch.

--------------------------

Other musing

I recently had to (yes, had to, there was no other choice) purchase a mouse pad and some coasters.  As I've just turned 24, this made me feel very old and practical, so I followed it up with a quick purchase of the complete Rocketeer comics and Heartbeats on DVD.  I ranked Heartbeats as my favourite film of 2010 (I know, something beat Shutter Island, crazy).  It'll be interesting if it holds up.  I'm kinda worried.

I did my first review for an actual magazine.  Does that mean I can refer to myself as a critic now?  Do I get a critic hat?