What Is ‘Miracle In Cell No. 7’, The Film That TikTok Is Calling “The Saddest Movie Of All Time”
Forget 'The Notebook', everyone's new favourite reason to cry is 'Miracle in Cell No. 7'.
When you Google “sad movies”, you’re usually just given all the boring, old classic flicks like The Notebook, Titanic, and A Walk To Remember.
And while all pretty good films to get the tears flowing, TikTok reckons they’ve managed to uncover the “saddest movie of all time” in Miracle in Cell No. 7.
You see, the latest TikTok craze is people forcing themselves to watch the movie, and then filming their reaction to share on the app — much like what we saw with people watching horror flick Megan is Missing and the super-horny 365 Days.
But unlike the reaction to the other movies, the literal weeping that Miracle in Cell No. 7 causes is something truly unmatched. So let’s explore why:
So, What Is Miracle in Cell No. 7?
The version of Miracle in Cell No. 7 that everyone is suddenly watching is the Turkish remake that was released in 2019. However, the Turkish adaptation was uploaded onto Netflix in 2020, hence its sudden popularity.
The original Miracle in Cell No. 7 is actually a Korean film that’s ticketed as a comedy-drama, but it’s far from hilarious. Along with the Turkish remake, and a Philippine adaptation that was also released in 2019, all three versions of Miracle roughly follow the same general story.
Each film focuses on the journey of a father with a learning disability, who gets stuck in prison after being wrongfully accused of killing and molesting the child of a high-ranking official.
After befriending and proving his loyalty to the hardened criminals in cell number seven (the harshest cell in the prison), his new friends help the father achieve his one wish: The miracle of seeing his own daughter again.
Managing to successfully smuggle his daughter into the prison so the pair can spend time together, all seems fine until the father is forced to admit his guilt when his child’s safety is threatened by officials. And despite even the prison warden knowing of the father’s innocence, he is still cruelly sentenced to death on his own daughters birthday.
From here the plot of each film takes different turns, but ultimately are all still heart-wrenching tales that highlight the ongoing problems with the abuse of power, while also demonstrating just how far a father will go to be with his daughter.
just watched a tiktok about miracle in cell no. 7 so if you feel like watching a movie that will attack every emotional cell in your body,,, i do recommend :)
— daisy (@ourtoxicdreams) November 29, 2020
Seen a tiktok saying how Miracle in Cell no.7 is meant to be one of the saddest films ever so obviously I decided to watch it and obviously I regret it greatly
— 🗡 (@victoriafhughes) April 27, 2020
OK, But Is Miracle in Cell No. 7 Really That Sad?
If the highly-emotional reaction on TikTok is anything to go by, Miracle in Cell No. 7 truly is the saddest movie of all time.
While we’ve all been known to let out a tear or two during a sad flick, people watching Miracle seem to be sobbing, not crying. I’m talking about full-blown weeping.
As some note in the comments of these TikToks, these reactions mimic the crying you do when grieving the loss of a loved one, or beloved pet. People even note that Miracle in Cell No. 7 left them crying for an hour after the film ended, while others said that they “get dehydrated every time” they watch the movie from sobbing so much.
Basically, people reckon it’s really fucking sad.
But beyond TikTok’s reaction, critical response to the Turkish adaptation, which is what most are currently watching on Netflix, is that Miracle is a real tearjerker that’s ” emotionally charged (and) excruciatingly beautiful”. Similarly, people on Reddit have called the original Korean film “the definition of a tearjerker” and “one of the saddest movies” they’ve ever seen.
However, it should also be noted that while the original Miracle in Cell No. 7 is a little more light-hearted, the Turkish adaptation lacks this humour and is probably the saddest of the three. Meanwhile, the Filipino version amps up on the jokes, to better connect with the local audience.
But regardless, all three are sure to leave you sobbing for a good couple hours. So if you want to make yourself cry, you can find the Turkish adaptation of Miracle in Cell No. 7 on Netflix, and the original Korean version (with subtitles) on YouTube.