Why do we cry?

I watched Finding Neverland earlier today, an utterly moving film that would have had me sobbing had not my roommate been present. As it was, I couldn't hold back a momentary gush of tears. The first time I watched Finding Neverland, I almost bawled like a wee babe. My reaction to this film has made me want to know: why do people cry while watching a movie? I know why I do - I cry during sentimental moments, leavings and goodbyes, and deaths. The movie that has wrenched the most tears out of me to-date is without a doubt A Walk To Remember. My face was a constant flood for the entire last hour of the movie. For sentimental moments, let me think - how about The Patriot - when Benjamin Martin's daughter speaks to him for the first time, and begs him to stay. And how about in Finding Nemo - when Marlin and Nemo are reunited near the end, or even when Nemo almost dies. Or how about in Brokeback Mountain when Ennis agrees to walk his daughter down the aisle. And, how about the very end of Titanic, when Rose finally is reunited with Jack. Finally, what about the very end of A Time to Kill, when Karl Lee is reunited with his little girl Tanya - that gets me every time. Leavings and Goodbyes, hmmm, how about the end of Father of the Bride, Part II, when Mr. Banks has to say goodbye to Annie and the new baby. And how about in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, when Frodo leaves the shire and all his friends and sails into the West. Or how about at the end of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, when Jen tells Lo to make a wish and then jumps. And deaths - I have plenty of these. Be forewarned: here be spoilers. If you do not wish to know the endings of these movies, then do not read past this point --> . Ok, now, let's see. How about the end of Million Dollar Baby, when Frankie does for Maggie what Maggie's father did for ol' axel. Or how about the end of Moulin Rouge!, when Christian's cries mingle with the mournful score as Satine breaths her last. Oh! How about in Baz Lurhman's production of William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, when Juliet watches Romeo die with one last kiss, and then takes her own life. And what about the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, when Mr. Amos Diggory falls to his knees beside the lifeless body of his son. Or when Kong's bruised and broken body falls from the heights of the Empire State Building as Ann Darrow weeps for him. How about when Roxanne watches Cyrano doggedly continue his tale as his own life slips away in Cyrano De Bergerac. Or when Sylvia Llewelyan Davies makes her slow and regal process into Neverland in Finding Neverland. And this display of emotion is not limited to movies. In Juliet Marillier's Sevenwaters Trilogy, I cried as Sorcha left Red on the shores of Britain, as Red followed Sorcha to Erin and told her of the depth of his love, and as Sorcha slipped into the beyond to the sound of Red's voice. I cried as the funeral proceeded in the end of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I teared as Harry repeated what he had said to Scrimgeour, about being Dumbledore's man through and through, to Dumbledore and Dumbledore actually became choked up. I cried as Sirrius Black fell through the veil at the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I cried as I learned how Quasimodo's body was found, his skeleton entwined with that of La Esmerelda in Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In short, I have cried a great deal. Now I would like to ask something of you: what makes you cry when you watch a movie or read a book? What always gets you, at least ninety percent of the time, when you encounter it? Are you a big softie, like me, or does nothing ever make you shed a tear. Please, post a comment, or email it to me. I look forward to hearing your responses. If I get enough, I'll post them. Until then, Adieu.