Best movies like The Wars
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Robert Ross lives a protected adolescence in a well-off Toronto suburb. Secretive and withdrawn, he shares his thoughts only with his sister Rowena, who is mentally disabled. He feels compassion for his weak and conventional father. He avoids any confrontation with his mother, a dominating woman whose despondency at having given birth to a handicapped child has turned to bitterness. Rowena occupies a central position in Robert's existence of daydreams and make-believe. When she dies, Robert clashes openly with his family, and decides to take himself in hand. It's 1914. He enrolls in the Canadian army, and, after training in Alberta and Montreal, he finds himself in England and France. The war becomes another way for him to resolve his conflicts, his dramas, his passions--his wars.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 55
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Canada, West Germany
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: independent film
Best tv shows and movies like The Wars (1983):
Similar in 77%
The Guardians (2017)
Plot Summary:
Women are left behind to work a family farm during the Great War.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France, Switzerland, Belgium
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, bleak, suspense, disturbing, novela, anamorphic
Similar in 88%
Last Night of Love (1980)
Plot Summary:
In 1916, shortly before Romania's entry in World War One Romanian Army Lieutenant Tudor Gheorghiu is posted to a border patrol unit on Romania's border with Austria-Hungary. Not receiving any news from his wife he persuades the commanding officer, Captain Dimiu, to allow him a short leave to visit his wife. Tudor married Lena two years before but was very jealous and suspected her of infidelity. When his grandfather dies Tudor inherits most of the fortune. Gigolo lawyer Andrei Nicolau is the executor of the will. He also is the man who lustfully desires Tudor's beautiful wife. A contest for Lena's love begins. Romania is plunged into WW1 and ironically Tudor receives his junior Lieutenant commission in the same regiment where gigolo lawyer Nicolau serves as a Major. Their destinies seem intertwined.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 591
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Romania, West Germany
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
Cat and Mouse (1967)
Plot Summary:
A film adaptation of the book by the same name written by Günter Grass. Pilenz, the narrator, revisits places of his childhood, going through his memories regarding his relationship to Mahlke, an old "friend" of his.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 133
Genere: Drama, War
Country: West Germany, Poland
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
Hedd Wyn (1992)
Plot Summary:
'Hedd Wyn' is a 1992 Welsh anti-war biopic. Ellis Humphrey Evans, a farmer's son and poet living at Trawsfynydd in the Meirionydd countryside of upland Wales, competes for the most coveted prize of all in Welsh Poetry - that of the chair of the National Eisteddfod, which in August 1917 was due to be held in Birkenhead (one of the rare occasions when it was held in England). After submitting his entry, under his bardic name "Hedd Wyn" ("Blessed Peace") Evans later departs from Meirionydd by train to join the Royal Welsh Fusiliers in Liverpool, despite his initial misgivings about the war. Ellis is sent to fight in the trenches of Flanders. 'Hedd Wyn' was the first Welsh-language film to be nominated for an Oscar.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 446
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: UK
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Mother at War (2020)
Plot Summary:
1918. World War I rages in Europe while Erna Jensen tends to her ordinary life at home in Bramstrup, with her simple-minded son, Kalle. One day the village constable comes to enlist Kalle for military service for the German Empire – of which Southern Jutland is a part. If Erna is to save Kalle from certain death, she must follow him through thick and thin. Upon a chance meeting with a deserting solder she trades identities. Now disguised as Private Julius Rasmussen, Erna heads for the front. In her encounters with the other soldiers and in the presence of the war, unknown sides of Erna are awoken. This is the story of a woman who won’t let a war prevent her from fighting for what she loves.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 804
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Denmark, Estonia, Belgium
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, suspense, period drama
Similar in 82%
Our Time Will Come (2017)
Plot Summary:
In Japanese-occupied Hong Kong, a school teacher and her would-be-fiancé link up with Chinese guerrilla fighters, forging their own path to freedom.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 995
Genere: Drama, War
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 88%
The Hot Snow (1972)
Plot Summary:
In November, 1942, near the Volga, Stanlingrad is under siege of Commander Friederich Paulus and his 330,000 men. The Russian high command unleashes an operation to protect the Mishkova River to avoid that about four hundred tanks join Paulus' army. The Soviet artillery soldiers protect their position with their lives in a bloodshed with few survivors.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 577
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
The Fear (2015)
Plot Summary:
A young soldier testifies of his thoughts about the first world war, between disillusion, fear and hate, following his path through the letters he sends to his lover.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 264
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France, Canada
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspenseful, rough, exciting
Similar in 89%
Under the North Star II (2010)
Plot Summary:
Akseli Koskela returns from prison and tries to learn living again. He's not allowed to take part in politics anymore, but he sees a lot of injustice around him. He raises a family with his wife Elina while another war is around the corner.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 455
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Finland
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological, touching, family saga, epic, exciting
Similar in 88%
Many Wars Ago (1970)
Plot Summary:
On the Italian/Austrian front during World War I, a disastrous Italian attack upon the Austrian positions leads to a mutiny among the decimated Italian troops.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Italy, Yugoslavia
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: historical drama, rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 79%
Chunuk Bair (1992)
Plot Summary:
The tragedy of Gallipoli is exposed.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 89
Genere: Drama, War
Country: New Zealand
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Foxhole (2021)
Plot Summary:
Unfolding over the span of 36 hours in three separate wars – The American Civil War, World War I, and Iraq – FOXHOLE follows five soldiers confined in a foxhole as they grapple with morality, futility, and an increasingly volatile combat situation. Casting the same five actors in each episode, the film depicts the shifting roles of race and gender over time against the backdrop of the seemingly endless human struggle for power and domination. (Olivia Belluck).
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 199
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 88%
Ararat (2002)
Plot Summary:
A variety of characters, some close relatives, others distant strangers, are each affected by the making of a film about the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Canada, France
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: disturbing, emotional, thought provoking, realistic, sexy, meta, existential, serious, contemplative, non-linear
Similar in 90%
Coup de grâce (1976)
Plot Summary:
A countess loves her brother's Prussian-officer friend in the 1919 Baltic area.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: France, West Germany
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: serious, stylized, realistic, bleak, philosophical, depressing, political, sad, art house, black and white
Similar in 77%
Austeria (1982)
Plot Summary:
During a pogrom in Poland on the eve of World War I, a group of Jews seek refuge from the Cossacks.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 655
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Poland
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: freeze frame
Similar in 76%
The Ottoman Lieutenant (2017)
Plot Summary:
Lillie, a determined American woman, ventures overseas to join Dr. Jude at a remote medical mission in the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey). However, Lillie soon finds herself at odds with Jude and the mission’s founder, Woodruff, when she falls for the titular military man, Ismail, just as the war is about to erupt.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Turkey, USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, thought provoking, captivating, retro, period piece, tragic, period drama
Similar in 79%
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1962)
Plot Summary:
Karl from Germany and Marcelo from France emigrated to Argentina and became brothers-in-law. Karl soon returned to Germany to serve in the army. Marcelo and his children Julio and Chichi became Argentinean citizens but later returned to Paris. Karl became a general with a son (Heinrich) in the SS and in WWII he got a high job within the occupation administration in France.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 153 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, captivating, psychological, retro, gay cinema, cult film
Similar in 86%
The Burmese Harp (1985)
Plot Summary:
In the War's closing days, when a conscience-driven Japanese soldier fails to get his countrymen to surrender to overwhelming force, he adopts the lifestyle of a Buddhist monk.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 190
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: odd
Similar in 80%
21 Brothers (2011)
Plot Summary:
21 Brothers tells the story of the Canadian 21st Battalion as they prepare for the battle of Courcellette in WWI. Taking place in real time, the film follows Sgt. Reid as he must get his men ready for the impending battle. Not only must he prep his battalion Sgt. Reid must also deal with the day to day difficulties of Life in the trenches, including injuries to his men, supply issues, and an underage recruit who has recently been sent into the front lines.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 127
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological, captivating, suspenseful, exciting
Similar in 86%
The Great War (2019)
Plot Summary:
In November of 1918 as World War I was ending, a unit of American soldiers goes behind enemy lines to find a lost platoon of African American soldiers.
IMDB Rating: 4.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating
Similar in 79%
Company K (2004)
Plot Summary:
Based on the popular World War I novel by author William March, director Robert Clem's COMPANY K follows a veteran of the first great conflict as he finishes a book about his wartime experiences and reflects on how a man's true character is revealed through his actions on the battlefield. From the German soldier who visits him in dreams to the camaraderie that is forged by fighting together and the true gravity of laying down your life for a greater cause, World War I veteran Joe Delaney will attempt to exorcise his demons through writing while struggling to readjust to small-town life following the trauma of war.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 339
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, epic, serious, captivating, disturbing, bleak, emotional, realistic
Similar in 78%
Private Peaceful (2012)
Plot Summary:
Set in the fields of Devon and the WW1 battlefields of Flanders, two brothers fall for the same girl while contending with the pressures of their feudal family life, the war, and the price of courage and cowardice.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, emotional, realistic, crying, weeping, period drama
Similar in 89%
A Bear Named Winnie (2004)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of a Canadian soldier, enroute to World War I from Winnipeg, who adopts an orphaned bear cub at White River Ontario. It is namned Winnie (for Winnipeg) and eventually ends up at the London Zoo where it became the inspiration for A.A.Milne's Winnie The Pooh stories.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Canada
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: feel good, serious, touching, light, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 86%
The Biggest Battle (1978)
Plot Summary:
A story of how World War II affected the lives of a German family and an American family, both of whom had sons and fathers fighting in the war.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 570
Genere: War, Drama
Country: Italy, West Germany, Yugoslavia
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: macaroni combat, exciting, rough, bleak, serious, realistic
Similar in 75%
Abandoned Houses, Empty Homes (2000)
Plot Summary:
A war movie that takes place in Finnish Karelia in 1944.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 309
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Finland
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 82%
Journey's End (2017)
Plot Summary:
Set in a dugout in Aisne in 1918, a group of British officers, led by the mentally disintegrating young officer Stanhope, variously await their fate.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, period piece, thought provoking, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 78%
All Quiet on the Western Front (1979)
Plot Summary:
At the start of World War I, Paul Baumer is a young German patriot, eager to fight. Indoctrinated with propaganda at school, he and his friends eagerly sign up for the army soon after graduation. But when the horrors of war soon become too much to bear, and as his friends die or become gravely wounded, Paul questions the sanity of fighting over a few hundreds yards of war-torn countryside.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: bleak, sad, suspenseful, historical drama, sincere, serious, realistic, disturbing, gloomy, tragic ending
Similar in 75%
Behind the Lines (1997)
Plot Summary:
Based on Pat Barker's novel of the same name, 'Regeneration' tells the story of soldiers of World War One sent to an asylum for emotional troubles. Two of the soldiers meeting there are Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon, two of England's most important WW1 poets.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, emotional, realistic, disturbing, independent film
Similar in 75%
Ambush (1999)
Plot Summary:
It is the summer of 1941 and the Finnish army has been mobilized along the border with Russia. A platoon led by Lt. Eero Perkola is waiting for orders to go on the offensive. The platoon receives orders for a recon mission through the wilderness around the Lieksa lake to search for possible Russian defensive positions.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: War, Drama
Country: Finland
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspense, intense, sincere, disturbing, rough, bleak, serious, brutal, sex comedy
Similar in 85%
The Big Red One (1980)
Plot Summary:
A veteran sergeant of the World War I leads a squad in World War II, always in the company of the survivor Pvt. Griff, the writer Pvt. Zab, the Sicilian Pvt. Vinci and Pvt. Johnson in Vichy French Africa, Sicily, D-Day at Omaha Beach, Belgium and France, ending in a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia where they face the true horror of war.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: bleak, realistic, political, cynical, cult classic, historical drama, exciting, rough, serious, captivating