I like movies that leave you feeling miserable and hopeless. La Notte, Mouchette, The Man Who Fell to Earth, etc. Any recommendations for downer movies?

The Bank Job
No County for Old Men, despite its overall goodness.

Shit yeah, La Notte is a great film. Antonioni in general tends to give that vibe... Il Deserto Rosso, also quite depressing (and more Monica Vitti as well).

Anyways, since you seem to be on the art-house tip:

earlyish Altman: 3 Women (very twisted), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (dreary steamsoaked visuals, maybe the most nihilistic Western ever)

Three German dudes... Herzog gets into some pretty heavy shit -- Stroszek is probably his most miserable film, made me want to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge, but also contains scenes of stunning beauty and insight. Also, Aguirre the Wrath of God (white male self-loathing), Woyzeck (ditto), Land of Silence and Darkness (it would suck to be Helen Keller).

Fassbinder, very depressing, perverse domestic horror situations. Fear of Fear, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, The BRD Trilogy. Warning: tends to drag, and is pretty much the reason that people are scared of German New Wave.

Wim Wenders' film Paris, Texas, although maybe not the vibe you're seeking, is pretty devastating and has one of the best last 20 minutes of any movie I've ever seen. It's in my top ten. Harry Dean Stanton's best role.

Moving on... The 400 Blows. Right up your alley.

Documentary stylee... Errol Morris' Gates of Heaven. As hilarious and absurd as it is depressing, but in any case, definitely worth seeing.

I'm sure you're aware of Todd Solondz, and although I don't think he's a great filmmaker, I have to admit that he is the King of Relentlessly Depressing Shit in recent times.

I Stand Alone. French dude at the end of his rope. Guaranteed to ruin your day.

The Killing. Very overlooked Kubrick noir. Way different vibe in terms of depressing-ness than the films you mentioned, but the ending says it all.

Liquid Sky. New York 2AM vibe, aliens come to Earth seeking heroin & orgasms & death, art school chick losing her mind. One of the straight up weirdest movies ever.

Those are the most depressing (specifically depressing, as opposed to merely sad) flicks I can think of right now.

The Last Picture Show

Watership Down.
Nothing to Lose.
Falling Down.
Jarhead.
The Pianist.
Schindlers List.


Out of the top of my head. *thinks of more*

The Mist was pretty depressing.

And Sin City wasn't exactly a cheery film.

Damnit, I forgot about that. Methinks it was an overall great movie, despite the lackluster ending.

i guess your life doesnt give you enough of these two?