In dogville when the fragile and innocent Grace(nicole kidman) realizes that humanity sucks and decides to kill all of the villagepeople including women and children.

Can't believe noone has mentioned it, perhaps it's because the movie is no that widespread?

Maybe i'm going by a different definition of emotionally devastating, but two that spring to mind:

1, The scene in "Basquiat" when the story is being told about the young prince held captive in the castle, and,

2, The last scene in "Lost in Translation" where Murray runs back and whispers the mystery nothings into Johansen's ear.

i haven't seen many of the films mentioned, but how has million dollar baby not been mentioned??

Maggie Fitzgerald: I do have one favor to ask of you boss.
Frankie Dunn: Anything you want.
Maggie Fitzgerald: Remember what my daddy did for Axel?
Frankie Dunn: [long pause] Don't even think about that.
Maggie Fitzgerald: I can't be like this, Frankie. Not after what I've done. I've seen the world. People chanted my name. Well, not my name... some damn name you gave me. But they were chanting for me. I was in magazines. You think I ever dreamed that'd happen? I was born two pounds, one-and-a-half ounces. Daddy used to tell me I'd fight my way into this world, and I'd fight my way out. That's all I wanna do, Frankie. I just don't wanna fight you to do it. I got what I needed. I got it all. Don't let 'em keep taking it away from me. Don't let me lie here 'till I can't hear those people chanting no more.

Great call. My eyes are getting moist just thinking about it.

Mixed reaction. I could not think of killing someone I love, so I felt an immediate gulf between me and the characters at that moment, and a resulting lack of emotion.

Most of the Bresson films have a moment of epiphany that jolts the viewer especially at the end. Diary of a Country Priest, The Devil Probably, L'Argent, Pickpocket, Une Femme Douce, all have very emotional endings. Some happy, some sad.

I find "Au Hasard Baltazar" to be too cerebral for my taste. It is definitely an art house film. For me, the saddest film of all, and perhaps Bresson's masterpiece, is "Mouchette". The Monteverdi score is sublime.

I'm glad someone put up a trailer for the most harrowing film of all time, "Come and See" (Russian, 1985). It's kind of like Schindler's List meets Apocalypse Now in Russia. The trailer is here (and wait for the final image which is just brutal):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMKwMzLj8Ow&mode=related&search=

The scene with the girl and boy running and the girl looking back at the village is the most devastating thing I ever saw on film. This picture explains things better than I can:

I've never heard of this film before...is it worth seeking out?

"I've never heard of this film before...is it worth seeking out?"

Hell Yeah. They're selling it on Amazon. It's worth buying just to watch the performance of the teenage lead actor, Aleksei Kravchenko. It's also Sean Penn's favourite film.

The director, Elem Klimov, stopped making films after this because he felt he expressed everything he could. It's great art and you won't be the same after watching it. Another Klimov film which is interesting is "Agony: The Life and Death of Rasputin" (1975).

I'm not a film buff and as a result, have not seen many of the films that have been mentioned. So forgive me if my suggestion is not in the ballpark with these great films all of you have listed so far.

The first movie that came to mind for me was:
What dreams may come

....with Robin Williams. I haven't seen it in awhile so I can't give you the exact scene in the film but it has something to do with Robin Williams' character trying to rescue his wife from the pits of hell. (She had committed suicide and was sent to hell) He is pleading with her to come with him so they can be together in heaven but she is unaware of his presence (kind of like the "ghost" scene) and
is sort of choosing to punish herself by staying in hell.

Another Robin Williams heart breaker occurs in The Fisher King, actually I'll name two scenes. Some background first, Robin Williams plays a school teacher who ends up wearing his beloved wife's brains after she gets shot in the head with a shotgun. He then creates Perceival his alternate persona to deal with his great tragedy. He is reminded of his former life by Jack (Jeff Bridges) and remembers enough of the incident to drive him into a stark mad screaming fit.

In another great scene, he is rejected by his new love interest played by Amanda Plummer, and before he can confess his love for her, she basically shuts him down because she believes he'll just use her. The speech he gives in this scene alone is well worth watching the movie.


Another great heartbreaker comes from my second favorite film, Little Big Man, in which Dustin Hoffman plays a boy who grows up in the world of the white man and Indian.

One particular scene comes to mind, Hoffman has finally found peace and come to live with the Cheyenne with his wife and baby, and all seems well at last. In the background drums and flutes fade in, and you know that is the sign that Custer is coming with his army. Hoffman manages to escape but watches as Custer's men slaughter his wife and child at the Battle of Wa****a River.

Finally my 3rd favorite movie and also a tearjerker, Harold and Maude, the scene where Harold finds out that Maude has taken the pills and has committed suicide right after thier wedding is a killer. Cat Steven's Trouble plays as he deals with her death, hell of a scene.

it is possibly somewhere in closer

If we are talking exposure to film over my entire life then only one word will suffice as an answer.

Bambi.

My favorite of his films is Pickpocket, a masterpiece of economy, and the ending gets me every time. Of course, as many critics point out, you can't tell whether he actually says what he says because his mouth is covered.

All his films display that same tightness as is found in Pickpocket. I also love A Man Escaped. In whom do you put your trust in this world? A stranger? Mouchette kills me. But there's something about Balthazar.

<............

As she is being burned at the stake, Joan looks to the sky watching birds take flight.


Note: When asked who Joan of Arc was, college students (many) identified her as the wife of Noah.