No Man's Land
In honor of Veterans Day, we offer this selection of films about war and the toll it takes on soldiers and civilians alike. These 12 films address conflicts around the world, from those that ended over a century ago to those playing out in the present day.
All Quiet on the Western Front
(Im Westen nichts Neues)
A German film adaptation of the epic 1929 anti-war novel by Erich Maria Remarque.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, United States, United Kingdom • 2022
- Director Edward Berger
- Cast Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Aaron Hilmer, Edin Hasanović, Devid Striesow, Daniel Brühl
- Genre Action, Drama, War
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Hive
(Zgjoi)
Fahrije’s husband has been missing since the war in Kosovo: does she wait for his return, or move forward on her own?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Kosovo, Switzerland, Albania • 2021
- Director Blerta Basholli
- Cast Yllka Gashi, Çun Lajçi, Aurita Agushi, Kumrije Hoxha, Adriana Matoshi, Molike Maxhuni
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
Quo Vadis, Aida?
A UN translator returns to Bosnia to help her family at the height of the 1995 War with Serbia.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Romania • 2021
- Director Jasmila Žbanić
- Cast Jasna Đuričić, Izudin Bajrović, Boris Ler, Dino Bajrović, Johan Heldenbergh, Raymond Thiry
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, Kanopy
The Earth Is Blue as an Orange
(Земля блакитна, ніби апельсин)
Hanna and her four children live in war-torn Ukraine and attempt to make a film about their traumatic experiences.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Ukraine, Lithuania • 2020
- Director Iryna Tsilyk
- Cast Hanna Hladka, Stanislav Hladkyi, Anastasiia Trofymchuk, Myroslava Trofymchuk, Vladyslav Trofymchuk
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
For Sama
Director Waad Al-Kateab captures the bombing of Aleppo as she and her husband lived it.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Syria, United States • 2019
- Director Edward Watts
- Cast Sama Al-Khateab, Hamza Al-Khateab, Waad al-Kateab
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Donbass
(Донбас)
In the Donbass, war is called peace, propaganda is presented as truth, and hatred is declared to be love.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany, Ukraine, France • 2018
- Director Sergey Loznitsa
- Cast Valeriu Andriuță, Irina Plesnyaeva, Evgeny Chistyakov, Georgiy Deliev, Vadim Dubovsky
- Genre Drama
- Available on Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Foxtrot
(פוֹקְסטְרוֹט)
After Michael and Daphna receive terrible news about their soldier son, they experience one of life's unfathomable twists.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Israel, Switzerland, Germany • 2017
- Director Samuel Maoz
- Cast Lior Ashkenazi, Sarah Adler, Yonaton Shiray, Shira Haas, Yehuda Almagor, Karin Ugowski
- Genre Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Fandango At Home
See You Up There
(Au revoir là-haut)
Two soldiers bonded by tragedy navigate the changing world of post World War 1 France.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Canada • 2017
- Director Albert Dupontel
- Cast Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Albert Dupontel, Laurent Lafitte, Niels Arestrup, Émilie Dequenne, Mélanie Thierry
- Genre Comedy, Crime, Drama, War
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Hoopla
Tangerines
(Mandariinid)
An Estonian man Ivo has stayed behind to harvest his crops of tangerines despite the war. In a bloody conflict at his door, a wounded man is left behind, and Ivo is forced to take him in.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Estonia, Georgia • 2013
- Director Zaza Urushadze
- Cast Lembit Ulfsak, Giorgi Nakashidze, Elmo Nüganen, Misha Meskhi, Raivo Trass, Zura Begalishvili
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Freevee, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
Son of Babylon
(Syn Babilonu)
A boy and his grandmother travel across Iraq in search of the boy’s missing father, a stranger to him.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iraq, United Kingdom, France • 2009
- Director Mohamed Al Daradji
- Cast Shazada Hussein, Yasser Talib, Bashir Al Majid
- Genre Drama, Road Movie
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
(Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage)
The true story of a young woman who did what few in Nazi Germany dared even think!
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Germany • 2005
- Director Marc Rothemund
- Cast Julia Jentsch, Fabian Hinrichs, Alexander Held, Johanna Gastdorf, André Hennicke, Florian Stetter
- Genre Drama, History
- Available on Chai Flicks, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Hoopla
Grave of the Fireflies
(火垂るの墓)
Can these two siblings beat the odds?
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1988
- Director Isao Takahata
- Cast Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shinohara, Akemi Yamaguchi
- Genre Animation, Drama, War
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads