Just about 12 years ago, my loving parents thought to gift their overseas soldier boy with a care package containing a few new movies. Watching films was pretty much the thing to do when not on duty, so the new films were highly appreciated.

Undoubtedly I'd watch them first, but they would most certainly find their way into the portable DVD players and laptop computers of many-a-solider. Safe to say, my parents were heroes, their act of generosity saving us from having to watch the same garbage over and over again. They were heroes and I was happy.

Or was I?

"Ladder 49," the first of the movies watched, proved to be an epically bad choice. Already depressed, that film struck so many chords that I wasn't prepared for the emotional trauma that resulted.

With dreams of a fictional husband and father burning alive, not to mention the funeral scene leaving me pondering my own damn mortality, I was a wreck for a couple days. Rosiaro, a battle buddy of mine even picked up on my apparent sadness. Rather than poke fun at my emotions, he emphatically conceded that the film is deeply depressing.

"You're a cold-hearted bastard if you can watch that movie and not shed a fuckin' tear," Rosario testified in his thick Bronx accent.

Remembering that occurrence a few days ago got me thinking. There are a number of films that inspire depression and sadness. And that's what I set out to do, compile a list of some of the most unrelenting films that will rip your heart out, stomp on it, set it on fire, and then urinate on the ashes. Don't even bring up Cheerios, because these movies will take a dump on those, too.

1. "Ladder 49"

Watch at your own peril, but make sure to keep the tissues close. Then go hug all your loved ones.

2. "Schindler's List"

Once per year I watch this film, because I need to feel the emotional weight of shame of what humanity allowed to happen. I'm not right for days following. The worst scene is Ralph Fiennes' Amon Goeth shooting at the lone Jewish boy walking across an empty yard.

3. "The Road"

If the film wasn't bleak and depressing enough, the scene where Michael K. Williams unnamed character is left with literally nothing, not even his clothing filled my heart with despair and loathing for the protagonist and his son. Sure, the guy tried to rob the father and son duo, but that mattered little. Just thinking about it now is making my heart rate climb.

4. "Lilya 4-Ever"

This Russian film that made me hate every fiber of my privileged existence. Starts with a teenage Lilya being deliberately abandoned as her mother moves to America and it all goes downhill from that point forward.

5. "Million Dollar Baby"

Just thinking about this film...I can't even...

6. "The Book Thief"

If you've watched this film, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say the film sapped your will to live in its final scenes. Even having read the book and knowing what to expect didn't prevent the upwelling of emotions.

7. "The Pursuit of Happyness"

While "The Pursuit of Happyness" had a decidedly happy ending, I spent too much of the film caught up in the let downs Chris Gardener (and his son) to recover fast enough to enjoy the film's conclusion.

8. "The Elephant Man"

My parents made me watch "The Elephant Man" as a child and it was the first movie I remember provoking tears. To this day I have a strong revulsion to people staring at people with disabilities, deformities, or anything that draws unwanted or hurtful attention.

9. "The Boy In The Striped Pajamas"

Holocaust-centric films are painful enough, but "The Boy In The Striped Pajamas" was an inevitable march along a depressingly cold path whose punshing end compounded earlier predictions. Young Shmuel's end was expected, but young Bruno's demise wasn't.

10. "Precious"

Just when things started looking up for Precious, the titular character's passes along the knowledge that Precious' abuser, rapist, and father is HIV positive. As if her life wasn't difficult enough.

11. "Life Is Beautiful"

Another Holocaust film on the list, "Life Is Beautiful" depicts a man's love for a woman and then the powerful love for his son as he protects the child from the horrors of a concentration camp. Guido Orefice, portrayed by Roberto Benigni, is charm from start to finish, but this charm only makes the film's closing chapters even more harrowing and heartbreaking. There is a light at the end of the film's tunnel, however, since the father manages to keep his young son alive.

12. "Breaking The Waves"

Emily Watson portrays Bess MacNeil, a slow, simple-minded woman living in a repressive religious community in Scotland, and her turbulent life following her husband's injury. Following the accident, Bess becomes convinced that to help her husband heal she must embrace an adulterous lifestyle.

13. "John Wick"

Okay, this film really as soul destroying as previous films on this list, but this Keanu Reeves' action flick opens with two traumatic events. The first is watching the action star grieve over his recently departed wife, something that's forgettable if the wife didn't leave a cute puppy to help the former assassin heal. The second, and absolutely unforgivable offense, is that the dog was killed. I heard it yelp in pain.

I WATCHED IT LAY DOWN TO DIE NEXT TO HIM! This dog's passing single-handedly turned me into a John Wick cheerleader, clamoring for the deaths of anyone I didn't like in the film.

Forgive me for adding a little levity with the "John Wick" inclusion, but after putting this together, I felt something humorous was added. Oh, I'll be upfront in saying I cannot watch that scene in which the dog is hurt, but the film distracts from the sadness, eventually.

Anyway, I'm aware through conversation with others that there are likely more soul-stealing films I haven't yet watched. Aware of few films I still want to watch, what films would you suggest?