World War II backdrop

World War II movies

Global war stories: resistance, intelligence missions, major campaigns, and the moral extremes of total war.

The Zookeeper's Wife

1. The Zookeeper's Wife

Drama History War Historical Drama World War II
7.0
20172h 6min

Overview

The account of keepers of the Warsaw Zoo, Jan and Antonina Zabinski, who helped save hundreds of people and animals during the Nazi invasion.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Survival under occupation, Duty under coercion, Animal sanctuary as cover, Resistance networks and sheltering, Protecting vulnerable lives

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Their Finest

2. Their Finest

Romance War Drama World War II Historical Drama
6.8
20171h 57min

Overview

During the Blitz of World War II, a female screenwriter works on a film celebrating England's resilience as a way to buoy a weary populace's spirits. Her efforts to dramatise the true story of two sisters who undertook their own maritime mission to rescue wounded soldiers are met with mixed feelings by a dismissive all-male staff.

Themes

Female leadership under pressure, Gender bias in film, Wartime propaganda ethics, Deception in storytelling, Resilience through cinema, Collaboration vs hierarchy

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

A Bag of Marbles

3. A Bag of Marbles

War Drama World War II Historical Drama
7.3
20171h 53min

Overview

At the beginning of the 1940s, in a France occupied by Nazi forces, lived the Jewish Joffo family. Happy and tight-knit, she sees her future darken when all members of the family are forced to wear the yellow star. Fearing the worst, the parents organized their family to flee to the free zone in the south of the country. Maurice, twelve years old, and Joseph, ten years old, will therefore leave alone in order to maximize their chances of finding their older brothers already settled in Nice. The brothers left to their own devices demonstrate an incredible amount of cleverness, courage, and ingenuity to escape the enemy invasion and to try to reunite their family once again.

Themes

Protecting kin amid upheaval, Reunion under threat, Family separation under occupation, Ingenuity for survival, Youth resilience and resourcefulness, Courage under invasion

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Kanopy
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Hacksaw Ridge

4. Hacksaw Ridge

Drama History War Historical Event World War II
8.1
20162h 19min

Overview

WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Themes

Faith guiding action, Ostracism under pressure, Religious pacifism vs duty, Healing through medical work, Conscientious objection, Sacrifice and rescue

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Hulu
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage

5. USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage

Action War Military Action World War II
5.3
20162h 8min

Overview

The harrowing true story of the crew of the USS Indianapolis, who were stranded in the Philippine Sea for five days after delivering the atomic weapons that would eventually end WWII. As they awaited rescue, they endured extreme thirst, hunger, and relentless shark attacks.

Themes

Survival under threat, Leadership accountability, Duty under crisis, Five days survival, Media pressure and blame

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Anthropoid

6. Anthropoid

History Thriller War Historical Event World War II
7.2
20162h

Overview

In December 1941, Czech soldiers Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš parachute into their occupied homeland to assassinate Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich.

Themes

Occupation pressure, Betrayal loyalty, Covert action consequences, Tactical planning danger, Resistance risk, Civilian cost

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Alone in Berlin

7. Alone in Berlin

War Thriller Drama World War II Political Thriller
6.5
20161h 43min

Overview

Berlin in June of 1940. While Nazi propaganda celebrates the regime’s victory over France, a kitchen-cum-living room in Prenzlauer Berg is filled with grief. Anna and Otto Quangel’s son has been killed at the front. This working class couple had long believed in the ‘Führer’ and followed him willingly, but now they realise that his promises are nothing but lies and deceit. They begin writing postcards as a form of resistance and in a bid to raise awareness: Stop the war machine! Kill Hitler! Putting their lives at risk, they distribute these cards in the entrances of tenement buildings and in stairwells. But the SS and the Gestapo are soon onto them, and even their neighbours pose a threat.

Themes

Propaganda vs truth, Surveillance and coercion, Moral courage under threat, Resistance through small acts, Collective risk and solidarity, Ordinary people as political actors

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Land of Mine

8. Land of Mine

War Drama History World War II Historical Drama
7.8
20151h 40min

Overview

In the days following the surrender of Germany in May 1945, a group of young German prisoners of war is handed over to the Danish authorities and subsequently sent to the West Coast, where they are ordered to remove the more than two million mines that the Germans had placed in the sand along the coast. With their bare hands, crawling around in the sand, the boys are forced to perform the dangerous work under the leadership of a Danish sergeant.

Themes

Trauma and resilience, Abuse of power, Group solidarity under duress, Survival under scarcity, Military discipline vs mercy, Dehumanization under command

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Son of Saul

9. Son of Saul

War Drama Thriller World War II Historical Drama
7.4
20151h 47min

Overview

In the horror of 1944 Auschwitz, a prisoner forced to burn the corpses of his own people finds moral survival trying to save from the flames the body of a boy he takes for his son, seeking to give him a proper Jewish burial.

Themes

Disguise and deception, Resistance under oppression, Survival under atrocity, Duty vs kin, Rituals under duress, Sonderkommando role

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Little Boy

10. Little Boy

Comedy Drama War Family Drama World War II
7.3
20151h 46min

Overview

An eight-year-old boy is willing to do whatever it takes to end World War II so he can bring his father home. The story reveals the indescribable love a father has for his little boy and the love a son has for his father.

Themes

Mentorship and growth, Memory and loss, War era family pressures, Faith under trial, Resilience through absence, Prejudice to empathy

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.