by Kellie Underhill

Created on: November 10, 2008   Last Updated: June 02, 2010

The most memorable movie scenes that make me cry are a little unusual because they generally aren't part of sentimental sad movies but musicals, comedies and even suspense. Chances are you may never have considered any of these films when you're looking for a tearjerker, but they are definitely worth viewing. In no particular order, here are the top five movie scenes that make me cry.

1. Evita

We know Eva Peron's fate from the beginning because the movie opens with her death and then flashbacks over her life, yet every time I watch Evita I cry near the end when she gets ill. The scene when Madonna takes to the balcony and sings "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" brings the tears every time. I don't know if it's her cracking voice, the tear that trickles from one eye, the weak sway as she struggles to stand there, or the fact that Eva Peron was a real woman who overcame a very humble beginning to become the spiritual leader of her country, but I've never been able to get through this scene without shedding at least one tear.

2. The Butterfly Effect (Director's Cut)

Watching the theatrical version of this movie is not at all the same experience as watching the Director's Cut. Ashton Kutcher is adorable and cute as always and even shows some range as an actor in this one, but the theatrical version is predictable and ordinary. If you really want to have a good cry, you need to watch the Director's Cut on DVD, which has an alternative ending that will rip your heart out and make you add this movie to your list of favourites.

3. Mama Mia

My girlfriends and I saw this movie together a couple of months ago. It is one thing to let the tears flow in the comfort of my own home, quite another to bawl my head off in the theatre. It's the only time I've ever openly wept in public. But I wasn't alone. There was not a dry eye in the house during the scene when Meryl Streep sings "Slipping through My Fingers" as she helps her daughter get dressed for her wedding.

4. Lost in Translation

This is one of my favourite movies of all time. Sophia Coppola does an excellent job capturing the essence of travel, when you reach out to anything and anyone that feels familiar, safe, and you're not quite yourself and you're not quite someone else and you form these bonds and friendships with people you would never meet otherwise and you'll never meet again. I feel for the jet lagged sleep deprived Bill Murray who is too tall for his shower. There are so many scenes in this movie that bring the giggles but one in particular brings the tears. At the end of the movie when the travellers must leave to go home and Bill whispers something unintelligible in Scarlett's ear, the waterworks open for me. I've watched this movie dozens of times and I still cry.

5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Funny man, Jim Carrey, and serious actress, Kate Winslet, seem to reverse roles in this movie. Carrey is the serious uptight Joel, while Winslet is the whimsical carefree Clementine. They meet. They fall in love. They have great chemistry. And then they break up and each one has a procedure done to erase the memory of the other. One of the saddest scenes happens in Joel's head as he realizes during the erasing procedure that he has made a mistake and tries to hold onto his memories of Clementine. And every time he loses that fight, I weep.

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