One of the most profound aspects of any art form is to provoke thought, to not only entertain audiences but to give us something to ponder over for hours, perhaps days after a short 90-minute experience. With that being said, ultimately, a filmmaker's greatest aim and goal with their films is in fact, to not provoke thought, but emotion, to speak to the densest of audiences at a deep emotional level.
Despite this obviously being no easy feat, and a true testament to a filmmaker's ability, in the 21st century alone, there are countless films released with the very ability to evoke powerful emotional responses from a mass audience.
This list aims to highlight such films, these films are by no means essentials, neither are they some compilation of obscure foreign films, but rather, a healthy blend of the two, aiming to hopefully reaffirm the status of some of the modern classics and hopefully introduce you to a few lesser known ones.
