Tragic Drama backdrop

Tragic Drama movies

A downfall or irreversible loss shapes the story, with painful consequences instead of a clean victory.

Fruitvale Station

51. Fruitvale Station

Drama Tragic Drama
7.5

20131h 22min

United States

Director: Ryan Coogler

Oakland, California. Young Afro-American Oscar Grant crosses paths with family members, friends, enemies and strangers before facing his fate on the platform at Fruitvale Station, in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009.

Themes

Family ties under strain, Racial identity under pressure, Collective memory and protest, Policing and accountability, Racism as social pressure, Urban fragility and everyday life

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Julieta

52. Julieta

Drama Romance Tragic Drama Passionate Romance
7.1

20161h 38min

Spain, United States

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

The film spans 30 years in Julieta’s life from a nostalgic 1985 where everything seems hopeful, to 2015 where her life appears to be beyond repair and she is on the verge of madness.

Themes

Memory and loss, Marriage and infidelity, Female friendship bonds, Mother-daughter estrangement, Coping with grief, Writing as self-exploration, Depression and isolation

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Testament of Youth

53. Testament of Youth

History Drama War Biographical History Tragic Drama
7.2

20152h 9min

Denmark, United Kingdom

Director: James Kent

Testament of Youth is a powerful story of love, war and remembrance, based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain, which has become the classic testimony of that war from a woman’s point of view. A searing journey from youthful hopes and dreams to the edge of despair and back again, it’s a film about young love, the futility of war and how to make sense of the darkest times.

Themes

War fuels pacifism, Trauma fosters resilience, Loss fuels memory, Education preserves agency, Care nurtures compassion, Gendered wartime roles

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Dheepan

54. Dheepan

Crime Drama Organized Crime Tragic Drama
7.2

20151h 55min

France

Director: Jacques Audiard

Three war-torn strangers posing as a family flee Sri Lanka’s civil war to start over in a troubled Paris suburb, but their past traumas resurface as they struggle to survive in their new environment.

Themes

Tension in housing project spaces, Survival under refugee camp pressure, Asylum through deception, Family forged under risk, Power dynamics with drug gang, Resilience amid precarity

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Poetry

55. Poetry

Drama Tragic Drama
7.8

20102h 19min

South Korea

Director: Lee Chang-dong

A South Korean woman in her sixties enrolls in a poetry class as she grapples with her faltering memory and her grandson's appalling wrongdoing.

Themes

Alzheimer's disease pressure, Bridge memory, Grandmother grandson relationship, Poetry class dynamics, Welfare poverty tension, School scandal avoidance, Caregiver burden debt

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Atlantics

56. Atlantics

Drama Romance Fantasy Passionate Romance Tragic Drama
6.7

20191h 46min

France, Senegal

Director: Mati Diop

Arranged to marry a rich man, young Ada is crushed when her true love goes missing at sea during a migration attempt — until a miracle reunites them.

Themes

Class inequality, Gendered expectations, Forced marriage, Emigration pressure, Unpaid wages, Urban development

Available on

Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

You're Not You

57. You're Not You

Drama Tragic Drama
7.3

20141h 44min

United States

Director: George C. Wolfe

A drama centered on a classical pianist who has been diagnosed with ALS and the brash college student who becomes her caregiver.

Themes

Illness and dependence, Duty vs desire, Marital strain, Caregiving burden, Infidelity and trust, Caregiver autonomy

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Arctic

58. Arctic

Drama Adventure Survival Adventure Tragic Drama
6.8

20181h 38min

Iceland, United States

Director: Joe Penna

A man stranded in the Arctic is finally about to receive his long awaited rescue. However, after a tragic accident, his opportunity is lost and he must then decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his camp or embark on a deadly trek through the unknown for potential salvation.

Themes

Survival under isolation, Dependence on rescue mechanisms, Moral tension in care, Endurance and tactical decision-making, Conflict with nature's unpredictability, Resilience under extreme conditions

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Calibre

59. Calibre

Thriller Drama Cover-Up Thriller Tragic Drama
6.8

20181h 41min

United Kingdom

Director: Matt Palmer

Two lifelong friends head up to an isolated Scottish Highlands village for a weekend hunting trip that descends into a never-ending nightmare as they attempt to cover up a horrific hunting accident.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Moral compromise, Community pressure, Isolation and paranoia, Deception and coverups, Fear of punishment

Available on

Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Waltz with Bashir

60. Waltz with Bashir

Drama Animation War Documentary Tragic Drama
8.0

20081h 30min

Australia, Belgium

Director: Ari Folman

An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.

Themes

Memory as defense, War memory fragmentation, Trauma and testimony, Veterans and civilians impact, Witnessing and recollection, Media and memory ethics

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.