The Hardest Movies To Watch More Than Once

If you love everything Studio Ghibli, you probably fell into the same trap we did when watching Grave of the Fireflies: "Oh, hey—another Studio Ghibli film! We loved Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away; this is going to be awesome." Your initial reaction is followed by 88 minutes of stunned silence as the adorable child protagonists struggle to survive in post-war Japan, then uncontrollable crying as the credits roll. Visually stunning and emotionally draining, Grave of the Fireflies is one of those films you must see at least once—but the only people capable of watching it more than once are either masochists or completely incapable of feeling pain.

There's no doubt Schindler's List is one of the most important films to ever grace a theater. The ambition and art that went into Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Thomas Keneally's Schindler's Ark, a historical fiction about the real work Oskar Schindler did to save the lives of his Jewish employees during Nazi rule of Germany in World War II, was second to none and painfully depicted the real horrors of the era in unforgiving detail. In fact, i's precisely because of the honest sense of dread and devastation that necessarily haunted the movie that it ranks among those that must be seen at least once, but is probably difficult to revisit for most.

Lars Von Trier's movies all tend to fit in the category of just-one-timers, and that's certainly the case with his second installment to his USA – Land of Opportunity trilogy, Dogville. The film, which was told in nine parts, chronicles the grueling experience of a woman who, on the run from the mafia, decides to hide out in a rural town whose residents agree to provide her shelter in exchange for her completing their various low-level chores. Her relationship with the town slowly descends into unethical abuses of the woman, including multiple sexual assaults—all very difficult to stomach the first time around, let alone on a repeat viewing.

Director Mel Gibson threw all his noodles at the wall when he made this harrowing, vicious film about the final days of Jesus Christ because, as the title indicates, it was meant to be a showcase of just how much grace and conviction the religious figure showed in the face of extreme brutality from his executioners. And while the film certainly did its job of reminding its intended audience of the sacrifices Jesus endured, even viewers who might've revered its message the first time might have a hard time bearing witness to the shocking level of violence again.

Hilary Swank's Academy Award-worthy performance as Brandon Teena, a real-life transgender man who was raped and murdered in 1993, was certainly groundbreaking, as it shed light on an underexplored sector of hate crimes that were (and are still) being committed against members of the LGBTQ community. At the same time, it was also incredibly difficult to bear and probably counts for many as a movie that's worth watching once ... but maybe only just the one time.

Ang Lee's romantic masterpiece was both visually stunning and emotionally resonant as it told the long, gut-wrenching love story of two cowboys whose passionate affair had to be kept secret for years as they tried to live the lives their families, and society, expected of them. The movie was bolstered by exceptional acting from its cast—particularly Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger, who portrayed the star-crossed lovers—and did its job of hitting viewers right in the feel spots. But for some, the devastation of its final scenes and the main characters' denial of their true selves is too sad to relive.

As prevalent as mass murder attacks might be in real life, it's still quite hard to enjoy any piece of artwork that tries to synthesize the psyche and history of a young person who commits these heinous acts, especially through the lens of those who play the blame game with themselves, like the mother figure in this film. In the case of We Need to Talk About Kevin, an all-star cast delivers sound, impactful work to peel back the layers of life that led up to the title character's horrific actions. That said, the movie is still difficult to process and might leave viewers feeling unfulfilled and even more hopeless and confused than before. Then again, maybe that was the whole point—to highlight the sheer senselessness of it all—but it's still hard to imagine working up an appetite to watch it again.

Like a lot of these movies, Precious—based on the autobiographical novel Push by Sapphire—made for incredible, indelible cinema thanks to some blistering truth about a segment of society most people might not understand or have compassion for. The movie told the story of a young girl whose life consisted of parental abuse and neglect first, poverty second, and whose struggle to survive the mean streets and her even meaner home life was a daily battle. Anyone who's seen it no doubt walked away a little different than they came in ... if unwilling to watch it again.

Charlize Theron's Oscar-winning turn as real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos was an inarguable benchmark in her career and worth watching just for the sake of seeing her masterful screen presence. However, Monster isn't exactly the kind of picture that warrants a repeat viewing—not only was the subject matter difficult for its realism (these were actual people she killed, of course), but it also offered an almost sympathetic lens for the murderess that many take issue with.