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A War poster

Movies that feel likeA War (2015)

Company commander Claus Michael Pedersen and his men are stationed in Helmand, Afghanistan. Meanwhile back in Denmark, with a husband at war and three children missing their father, everyday life is a struggle for Claus' wife Maria. During a routine mission, the soldiers are caught in heavy Taliban crossfire. In order to save his men, Claus makes a decision that ultimately sees him return to Denmark accused of a war crime.

If you loved A War, the closest films we have are In Darkness (2011), Beanpole (2019) and Sobibor (2018). All three share A War's contemplative and bleak feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Shame (1968).

πŸ… 90% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Tobias Lindholmcontemplativebleak
6 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· Criterion Channel

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If A War hit the spot, these will too

In Darkness poster
In Darkness
2011 Β· dir. Agnieszka Holland
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.3drama Β· war

Contemplative where it counts, bleak underneath

A dramatization of one man's rescue of Jewish refugees in the Nazi-occupied city of Lviv. In Darkness tells the true story of Leopold Soha who risks his own life to save a dozen people from certain death. Initially only interested in his own good, the thief and burglar hides Jewish refugees for 14 months in the sewers of the Nazi-occupied town of Lviv (formerly Poland).

Beanpole poster
Beanpole
2019 Β· dir. Kantemir Balagov
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.2drama Β· warRent or buy

Contemplative drama in both cases

1945, Leningrad. World War II has devastated the city, demolishing its buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, physically and mentally. Two young women, Iya and Masha, search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins.

Sobibor poster
Sobibor
2018 Β· dir. Konstantin Khabenskiy
πŸ… 73%β˜… 6.4war Β· dramaPrime Video

Bleak war, and it commits to that

The film is based on a real story that happened in 1943 in the Sobibor concentration camp in German-occupied Poland. The main character of the movie is the Soviet-Jewish soldier Alexander Pechersky, who at that time was serving in the Red Army as a lieutenant. In October 1943, he was captured by the Nazis and deported to the Sobibor concentration camp, where Jews were being exterminated in gas chambers. But, in just 3 weeks, Alexander was able to plan an international uprising of prisoners from Poland and Western Europe. This uprising resulted in being the only successful one throughout the war, which led to the largest escape of prisoners from a Nazi concentration camp.

Persian Lessons poster
Persian Lessons
2020 Β· dir. Vadim Perelman
πŸ… 80%β˜… 7.4war Β· drama

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Occupied France, 1942. Gilles is arrested by SS soldiers alongside other Jews and sent to a camp in Germany. He narrowly avoids sudden execution by swearing to the guards that he is not Jewish, but Persian. This lie temporarily saves him, but Gilles gets assigned a life-or-death mission: to teach Farsi to Head of Camp Koch, who dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran once the war is over. Through an ingenious trick, Gilles manages to survive by inventing words of "Farsi" every day and teaching them to Koch.

The Counterfeiters poster
The Counterfeiters
2007 Β· dir. Stefan Ruzowitzky
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.5drama Β· war

Both lean on bleakness more than on war

The story of Jewish counterfeiter Salomon Sorowitsch, who was coerced into assisting the Nazi operation of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp during World War II.

The Breadwinner poster
The Breadwinner
2017 Β· dir. Nora Twomey
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.7animation Β· war Β· drama

Two things both keep coming back to: afghanistan and family

The difference: Leans harder into animation than A War does

A headstrong young girl in Afghanistan, ruled by the Taliban, disguises herself as a boy in order to provide for her family.

Uri: The Surgical Strike poster
Uri: The Surgical Strike
2019 Β· dir. Aditya Dhar
πŸ… 57%β˜… 8.2action Β· drama Β· war

One thread runs through both: army

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

Following the roguish terrorist attacks at Uri Army Base camp in Kashmir, India takes the fight to the enemy, in its most successful covert operation till date with one and only one objective of avenging their fallen heroes.

Shame poster
Shame
1968 Β· dir. Ingmar Bergman
πŸ… 67%β˜… 8war Β· drama

Cut from the same drama cloth

The difference: Made in the 1960s, in a different era of the craft

In the midst of a civil war, a pair of former violinists in a tempestuous marriage oversee a farm on a rural island. In spite of their best efforts to escape their homeland, the war impinges on every aspect of their lives.

The Champion poster
The Champion
2021 Β· dir. Maciej Barczewski
β˜… 6.8drama Β· history Β· warPrime Video

War approached the same way

It is 1940. The first transport of prisoners arrives at the newly created concentration camp Auschwitz. One of them is Tadeusz β€œTeddy” Pietrzykowski, pre-war boxing champion of Warsaw. The camp officers force him to fight in the ring for his and other prisoners’ lives. However, his every win strengthens the hope that Nazis are not invincible. Auschwitz officers notice the growing resistance. The confrontation with the authorities of the camp becomes inevitable.

Paisan poster
Paisan
1946 Β· dir. Roberto Rossellini
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.6drama Β· warMax

Both play drama straight

Six stories unfold in various regions, from Sicily to the northern Po Valley as American military personnel interact with a variety of Italian locals over eighteen months in the push north during the Italian Campaign of WWII as German forces retreat.

Flame & Citron poster
Flame & Citron
2008 Β· dir. Ole Christian Madsen
πŸ… 86%β˜… 7.2drama Β· history Β· war

Both are war through and through

Gunman Flame and his partner Citron assassinate Nazi collaborators for the Danish resistance. Assigned targets by their Allies-connected leader, Aksel Winther, they relish the opportunity to begin targeting the Nazis themselves. When they begin to doubt the validity of their assignments, their morally complicated task becomes even more labyrinthine.

Katyn poster
Katyn
2007 Β· dir. Andrzej Wajda
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7drama Β· history Β· war

The drama is handled with the same confidence

On September 1st, 1939, Nazi Germany invades Poland, unleashing World War II. On September 17th, the Soviet Red Army crosses the border. The Polish army, unable to fight on two fronts, is defeated. Thousands of Polish men, both military and government officials, are captured by the invaders. Their fate will only be known several years later.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share A War’s defining feeling.