Image via Tri-Star Pictures
By
Ryan Heffernan
Published 13 minutes ago
Ryan Heffernan is a Senior Writer at Collider. Storytelling has been one of his interests since an early age, with his appreciation for film and television becoming a particular interest of his during his teenage years.
This passion saw Ryan graduate from the University of Canberra in 2020 with an Honours Degree in Film Production. In the years since, he has found freelance work as a videographer and editor in the Canberra region while also becoming entrenched in the city's film-making community.
In addition to cinema and writing, Ryan's other major interest is sport, with him having a particular love for Australian Rules football, Formula 1, and cricket. He also has casual interests in reading, gaming, and history.
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At its heart, war cinema is about showcasing the utter futility of war, presenting a terrible spectacle of devastation and despair to illustrate the horrors of the battlefield and the psychological strain of combat in an effort to prove that there is no glory in it. It plunges viewers into the darkest and most depraved chapters in human history, immersing them in the heinous brutality of war and the inhumanity and moral corruption such circumstances breed.
However, war cinema has also often proved to be hopeful and uplifting, serving as a testament to the resolve of the human spirit, emphasizing that, even in the worst conditions mankind has ever seen, humanity can still flourish. Ranging from modern masterpieces to decades-old classics, these war movies strike a faultless balance between horror and hope, depicting both the sheer terror of war and the decency and spirit of those embroiled within it.
'Hacksaw Ridge' (2016)
A biographical war film that magnificently depicts one individual’s conviction and courage amid the volatility and violence of the Pacific Theater of WWII, Hacksaw Ridge dramatizes the heroism of Desmond Doss (Andrew Garfield), a medic who refuses to wield a rifle due to his faith. While his decision initially leads to conflict with his peers, he soon earns their respect. His legacy, bravery, and humanity are consolidated through his actions in the Battle of Okinawa when, at Hacksaw Ridge, he runs into no man’s land dozens of times to retrieve injured soldiers.
In real life, Doss’s valor earned him the Medal of Honor, and the film does a spectacular job at illustrating his gallantry with an air of dutiful determination and love for humanity. This uplifting idealism is made all the more impactful by director Mel Gibson’s ability to realize the sheer horror of the battlefield with unflinching, visceral detail. It makes Hacksaw Ridge an inspiring picture of hope and heart amid the scourge of war, and one of the best war movies to be released in recent years.
'Paths of Glory' (1957)
Stanley Kubrick's Paths of GloryImage via United Artists
French soldiers fill a barroom, cheering and jeering lecherously as a young German girl stands before them to perform a song. As she sings, however, the rowdy nature of the soldiers dissipates, their savaged and primal demeanors melt away, supplanted by tearful ambivalence and quiet agony. This is the final scene of Paths of Glory, and it is a fitting way to encapsulate the movie that proceeds, a tale of rigid military coldness opposed by one man’s futile fight as Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) represents three soldiers standing trial for cowardice at the behest of the vexed career-minded commander who ordered them to partake in a suicide mission to further his own political aspirations.
The story is a bleak and blunt examination of inhumanity within the armed forces, deftly handled by Stanley Kubrick, and one that casts Dax’s hopeless heroism as a necessary defiance against the man-eating machine and of the military. Paths of Glory haunts viewers with its callousness as it depicts a blatant disregard for life, but it still finds powerful glimpses of humanity within Dax’s campaign, the impossible circumstances the accused find themselves in, and its beautiful yet complex finale of the tenderness of human connection.
'Land of Mine' (2015)
Land of Mine Land of Mine Louis Hofmann and Roland Møller seatedImage via Nordisk Film
Highlighting a complex and confronting chapter of WWII, Land of Mine is a Danish film exploring the treatment of German POWs in the immediate aftermath of the conflict as they—many of them still just teenagers—are tasked with clearing the west coast of Denmark of landmines with their bare hands. Through their dangerous work, they form an unlikely bond with the hard-edged Danish sergeant tasked with overseeing their mission. The constant threat of death, the devastating blasts when their friends are killed, and the torturous allure of going home challenge the boys’ psychologically.
Every mine-sweeping effort is realized with unbearable tension, immersing viewers in the nerve-shattering precision and punishment of their task. It dismantles notions of Nazism and enemies, simply viewing every character as a human being desperate to live as the war comes to an end. Its moments of humanity are not just uplifting; they conjure hope amid the deluge of callousness and hostility that war breeds, and they bring a palpable air of heartache and despair to the violence the film depicts.
'Life is Beautiful' (1997)
Image via Miramax Films
The beauty and heart of a father’s love unfolding against the backdrop of the Holocaust, Life is Beautiful is both life-affirming and heartbreaking, an ode to heroism, hope, and humor at a time when humanity was shattered. It follows Guido (Roberto Benigni), a Jewish father who convinces his young son that the horrors they are being subjected to in the concentration camp are all part of an elaborate contest, and if he does as he is told, he will win the grand prize of a tank.
It defies evil with love, despair with imagination, and the sheer scale of the Holocaust with the indomitable will of the human spirit, culminating in a grueling illustration of one of history’s bleakest chapters explored through the lens of a parent’s dedication to their child. Even in the tragedy of its ending, Life is Beautiful thrives as a triumphant ode to fatherhood and its quiet courage.
'Saving Private Ryan' (1998)
Soldiers stand in a ruined city in Saving Private Ryan, 1998.Image via DreamWorks Pictures
Marking the definitive depiction of the scale and savagery of combat in WWII, Saving Private Ryan haunts viewers with its monumental scale and graphic violence, a note best exemplified in its unforgettable opening sequence showing the Normandy invasion. From there, the movie follows Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) and his squad as they are tasked with finding Private James Ryan (Matt Damon)—the last surviving brother of four—so he can return home and be reunited with his mother.
Questioning the value of one life amid the vastness of war, Saving Private Ryan explores intriguing philosophical queries as it plunges viewers into the breadth of the European Theater of WWII. Spielberg's masterpiece realizes the conflict with searing brutality, flaunting a striking sense of detail and gruesomeness that lingers long in the mind. However, it also reaches an uplifting conclusion that honors the sacrifice so many soldiers made while signaling that, even over 50 years after the war, their heroism was never forgotten by those they served with.
'Glory' (1989)
Private Trip (Denzel Washington) fighting as a soldier in 'Glory'.Image via Tri-Star Pictures
Perhaps the greatest movie about the American Civil War, Glory employs an engrossing historical story and captivating grandiosity to comment on the very nature of the conflict while focusing on a profoundly powerful story of defiance, racism, and humanity. Documenting the journey of the first all-African-American regiment, it explores issues of prejudice and discrimination on both sides of the conflict while emphasizing ideas of self-worth and resilience amid the most trying and demanding of circumstances.
Buoyed by sensational performances from Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman, Glory strikes an inspirational tone in its depiction of courage, conviction, and the triumph of personal pride, even as its visceral battle sequences and overtone of prejudice make for difficult viewing. Its conclusion, with many soldiers, white and Black, lying dead in the same ditch, illustrates the central theme of Glory with perfect tragedy: an equality in death that was sadly absent in life, highlighting the bravery of the regiment that immortalized them as heroes of principle, idealism, and hope.
'Jojo Rabbit' (2019)
Roman Griffin Davis as Jojo and Scarlett Johansson as his mother riding down the street with their bikes in Jojo RabbitImage via Searchlight Pictures
Rich and poignant while ridiculously hilarious, Jojo Rabbit is a divine plunge into Nazi Germany through the eyes of Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis), an obsessive Hitler Youth cadet who is shocked to learn his mother is sheltering a young Jewish girl in the walls of their house. Aided by his imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi), Jojo struggles to decide whether he should stay on the path of nationalism or if his growing bond with Elsa (Thomasin McKenzie) will shatter his prejudices.
The movie is defined by its beating heart, hopeful story of love, humor, and friendship triumphing over evil. Still, it brilliantly offsets its joyous optimism with several sequences of soul-shattering tragedy, be it Jojo discovering his mother has been executed—a scene beautifully and tenderly realized through a shot of shoes—to Captain Klenzendorf’s (Sam Rockwell) sacrificial act to save Jojo from execution at the hands of the Red Army. Inspiring hope and heartbreak, Jojo Rabbit is a wonderful gem of 2010s cinema, an emotionally-charged comedy of hate and love that makes an impression through its harshest moments as much as it does through its comical might.
'Grave of the Fireflies' (1988)
Seita and Setsuko walk in a field of flowers and fireflies in Grave of the Fireflies.Image via Studio Ghibli
Plenty of movies have realized stories of hope and horror in their examination of the lives of civilians in times of war. Few have done so as to the effect of Grave of the Fireflies. The Studio Ghibli masterpiece follows two young siblings in Japan who, after an air raid kills their mother, are sent to a rural village to live with an aunt they hardly know. As the situation grows sour, Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi) and his little sister, Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi), venture out on their own, a decision that brings them joy but leads to tragedy.
A beautiful work of animated cinema, an astonishing immersion in wartime Japan, and a powerful tale of love and sacrifice between siblings, Grave of the Fireflies centers on a touching relationship and uses the majesty and humanity of that bond to illustrate the heinousness of war. It soars off the back of its tenderness while devastating viewers with the callousness of reality. The result is a richly emotional movie that finds a bitter sense of hope and despair, humanity and desperation, and reaches a harrowing conclusion about the cost of war.
'Schindler’s List' (1993)
Image via Universal Pictures
One of the most soul-shattering movies ever made, Schindler’s List is a masterpiece of traumatizing, powerful, and devastating cinema, a monumental achievement and an unforgettable immersion into the callous brutality, startling inhumanity, and utter evil of the Holocaust. However, it is also a story of hope, courage, and heroism, as it dramatizes the efforts of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), an industrialist who uses his ties to the Nazi party to save Jewish lives by recruiting prisoners as workers in his factories.
The film’s violence is shocking, but its underlying tale of resilient humanity amid the despair of the concentration camps is incredible, a point perhaps most prominently made towards the end of the movie as a heartbroken Schindler crumbles, believing he could have saved more. The final touch of the picture—being the surviving prisoners Schindler saved visiting his grave decades later—illustrates the scope of Schindler’s efforts beautifully, culminating in one of the most emotionally overwhelming viewing experiences in the history of cinema.
'The Grand Illusion' (1937)
Erich von Stroheim and Pierre Fresnay in The Grand IllusionImage via Réalisation d'Art Cinématographique
A timeless masterpiece of war cinema, The Grand Illusion engrosses viewers with its philosophical pondering of the nature of war, hostility, and camaraderie between foes as it follows a group of French POWs in WWI. When two renowned escapists are relocated to a new camp, a peculiar bond develops between Captain de Boëldieu (Pierre Fresnay), a soldier who hails from French nobility, and Captain von Rauffenstein (Erich von Stroheim), the commander of the camp descended from German aristocracy.
Through their discussions of class distinctions, brotherhood between soldiers, and the changing state of society as the war rages on, The Grand Illusion presents a contemplative and thought-provoking examination of how the Great War revolutionized European society. It doesn’t harrow through violence or brutality, but rather through its ability to capture the significance of the war on a cultural front. Thus, The Grand Illusion illuminates the notions of empathy and even friendship while dissecting the illusion that national borders and cultural divisions are more powerful than shared human experience.
Grand Illusion
Not Rated
Drama
War
Release Date
September 12, 1937
Runtime
113 Minutes
Director
Jean Renoir
Cast
Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim, Dita Parlo, Julien Carette, Georges Péclet, Werner Florian, Jean Dasté
Writers
Charles Spaak, Jean Renoir
Genres
Drama, War
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