20 Essential Break Up Movies

Going through a breakup? Whether you're looking for escapism or self-assessment, laughs or bitter revenge, these are some of the best movies ever to deal directly with the end of a relationship and the world that awaits.

Woman Crying While Watching  Break Up Movies
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1. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

This offbeat romantic comedy (which won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay) stars Jim Carrey as Joel, who opts for a procedure in which memories of his girlfriend, Clementine (Kate Winslet), are erased after he learns she's already had the surgery done. But as his doctor begins to wipe out traces of Clementine, Joel decides he doesn't want to lose what's left of their relationship, so he squirrels away the memories somewhere else in his brain.

2. Kramer vs. Kramer

Ted (Dustin Hoffman) is a career-driven yuppie -- until he finds out his wife (Meryl Streep) is leaving him and their 6-year-old son. Ted soon finds that he loves being a full-time parent, but then his wife reappears to reclaim the boy. Poignant and beautifully acted, the movie swept the 1979 Academy Awards, winning Oscars for Hoffman and Streep, plus Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay honors.

3. Annie Hall

Listen closely and you can actually hear the stress hormones pumping through the bodies of the characters in Annie Hall. Woody Allen's real, funny ode to love among twitchy city dwellers scooped up Oscars for Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Actress (Diane Keaton) and Best Screenplay. And don't miss cameos of not-yet-stars Jeff Goldblum, Shelley Duvall and Sigourney Weaver.

4. Chungking Express

Hong Kong director Kar Wai Wong established a unique style with this cerebral film that tells two somewhat similar but unrelated stories about loneliness and disconnection in the big city. In the first story, a policeman pines after his former girlfriend and gives himself 30 days to find another woman; in the second story, another policeman catches the eye of an attractive waitress, who's intent on completely rearranging his life.

5. High Fidelity

Vintage record store owner Rob Gordon (John Cusack) has been dumped by his girlfriend, Laura (Iben Hjejle), because he hasn't changed since they met. In an attempt to figure out where things went wrong, Rob revisits his top five breakups of all time. As he seeks out his former lovers to find out why they dumped him, he continues his efforts to win Laura back. Based on the Nick Hornby novel, the film is a clever, funny tribute to the music scene.

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dubistdu wrote:

"Under the Tuscan Sun" I've always loved that movie. It's more of a journey to find a true self fulfilment in life. While I was going through my divorce I watched it more than 100 times.

Everytime I was let down I put that movie on. like...Few days ago I watched it 4 times until I felt better.

Sometimes even thugh you do try your best to make things work,... shit happens in life. It's not you. At least it's good to know that you've done your best.

And when shit happens...like break up...how does one pick onseself up?

After being with somebody so long sometimes you do kinda lose yourself in the process and that's why it's extra hard to pick yourself up again.

Then what do you do.... find yourself again...in a newer and a better way. Then you can truely move on. I am still in the process but at least I am really enjoying to get to know myself again.

i have to agree i love this movie!!!!! i also luv The Bridges of Madison County dont know if its a break up movie but it always makes me cry luv it!

- December 29, 2008 07:02 PM

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Dutches wrote:

like that old song "Breaking up is haaaard to do" Who hasn't been there at some point in what we thought was a serious relationship full of promise. It helps to understand that his or her part in your story is O.V.E.R. It's not easy at first, but try and think in terms of "if it were supposed to be it would have been" Instead of moping and crying and asking the never ending WHY? WHY? WHYS? with no realalistic answers. We have a responsibility to ourselves to pull our lives out of what could have, would have, should have self-inflicted pain and look to now and the future. When I lost what I thought of at the time as "the love of my life" I thought I would cease to exist without him. That was then and now is now. I'm glad that I woke myself up to the fact that maybe I'd been spared. It's easy to imagine a rosey future with someone when in reality, if you had tied the knot, perhaps it would have fallen apart then instead of before the fact. Think of things to be grateful for every day, every hour if it's that painful at first. The more effort you can muster with each successive day, you find yourself actually healing instead of ripping the wound open all the time with what you felt were happy memories. If it breaks up, let's face it, there were flaws all along that you blinded yourself to. Start smelling the roses again and breath and be thankful. You are now freee to meet someone who really apprecaites YOU.

SmileAgreed!!!

- August 10, 2008 07:06 PM

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Lovie22 wrote:

Diary of a Mad Black women is seriosly my strength movie. My current relationship remindes me alot of this movie and everytime i get week I think of Madea saying "if you get the chance to beat the shit outta of him and you do you aint over him if you dont...then you are" sadly to say im not...and dont think I ever will be

How about Medea goes to jail? When she is talking to Sonny about relationships are "like trees"

- August 10, 2008 09:34 AM

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