The label tearjerker has become a pejorative, because it often means sentimental to the extreme.
But there are films that are tearjerkers that are great art. In mind are film's like Robert Bresson's Au Hasard Balthazar and Theo Angelopoulos's Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow. These films are truly masterpieces of misery and sadness.
But, even Hollywood can occasionally get things right. About a decade ago. My Dog Skip was released, and it is a superb film; I would argue a great one, if but for the writing. It puts me in mind of October Sky and A River Runs Through It, films also based upon memoirs, like My Dog Skip.
Here is the film's end, and even non-animal lovers, or cat lovers (like me) can appreciate the scene below, for it is simple, not simplistic; realistic, not truthful; and never makes one want to retch. It also is a family film- another term that has become a pejorative.
I say, watch it, for it's even better than Stand By Me, long considered te king of non-Disney family films.
