Do you enjoy watching sad movies?

I was having a discussion with a friend of mine who finds a lot of the heavy subject matter in sad movies to be too depressing.

But I’m the complete opposite. If the story and characters are treated with humanity, and the film isn’t manipulative or cynical, sad movies can actually make me happy, especially if I deeply empathize with characters. And I rarely walk out depressed if the film’s emotional themes resonate with me.

Bill Maher recently make a joke about this years Oscar nominees and said that they’re all “debbie downers” but I couldn’t disagree more.

Films such as Nomadland, Minari, Sound of Metal, One Night in Miami, Judas and the Black Messiah, and The Trial of the Chicago 7 all certainly deal with heavy topics, but I don’t think they’re done in a depressing way that punishes the audience, like a film like 2001’s Monster’s Ball does.

What do you think?