The barbaric act ofwarhas been around since the dawn of humankind. From conflicts over land, borders, and territories, to battles over religion, political disparities, royal families, and sometimes just over plain, concentrated evil.
While the birth of social media means we now have unprecedented access to footage of the atrocities of war around the world, every war pre-the influx of citizen journalism and post-the invention of the camera relied on brave camera men and women, and documentarians to head off to war zones to capture footage of the ensuing bloodshed, and as such, we have been left with some truly astounding, often horrifically saddeningdocumentarieson war over the years. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the documentaries that will have you in tears.
I Am Vanessa Guillen (2022)
The Netflix original documentary concerns itself with a different dimension to the hard-hitting nature of war, and instead takes a deep dive into the systemic sexist abuse many female soldiers suffer and have suffered at the hands of their male colleagues. In this instance, the documentary follows the harrowing tale of Vanessa Guillen, who spoke out about the abuse she fell victim to before tragically being murdered. This part-war, part-crime documentary delves into the aftermath of the abhorrent crimes and Vanessa’s family’s fight for justice and reform.
Naturally, with any topic related to or addressing sexual assault, this is a sensitive and often distressing watch. From deeply personal and emotional interviews with her family members, to fascinating and insightful information from the attorneys and others who were involved, this isn’t your typical war documentary, but is one that follows a devastating account of a woman failed by the military and by the system.
Stream on Netflix
Restrepo (2010)
Another that can rightly be listed as one of the greatest war documentaries of all time is Tim Hetherington’s thrilling, gut-wrenching, and incredibly absorbingRestrepo. In this unnarrated piece of filmmaking, we follow the 173rd Airborne Brigade as they battle the perilous enemy in Afghanistan, as well as the concurrent fight with mind-numbing boredom.
As anyone who has experienced war will be able to attest, there are few sounds more sobering than the distant clacks of gunfire and the all-consuming nature of explosives being detonated. Prolonged periods of silence follow the bloodshed, with these lengthy stretches of idleness.Restrepodoes a sublime and unique job of immersing its audience in a treacherous war zone, which makes for a massively traumatic and heartbreaking experience.
Rent on Apple TV+
Hell and Back Again (2011)
One of the more modern depictions of war,Hell and Back Again, is focused around Danfung Dennis’ implantation as a wartime photojournalist in Afghanistan. Embedded in a highly trained, highly skilled Marine Corps who are preparing to undertake a confidential and important mission in a Taliban occupation, Hell and Back Again captures the carnage and unpredictability of war.
From the unforgiving nature of front line action in the Middle East, where many lives were lost on both sides, this heartbreaking documentary takes us inside the very psyche of a soldier as they contend with the very real threat of death in combat. What is unique, and so very moving, aboutHell and Back Againis that it presents these soldiers in and out of combat, as they return home to the States to see their families and attempt to become reacquainted with ordinary, civilian life again.
Stream on Tubi, Prime, and Pluto
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Waltz with Bashir (2008)
Waltz with Bashir
Waltz with Bashiris a war documentary like no other. Told in an irregular, non-linear fashion, this animated, beautifully artistic piece of filmmaking is a must-watch. Documenting the 1982 Lebanon War, director Ari Folman leans on his own personal experiences as an Israeli soldier during the conflict.
Tapping into the realms of indie cinema, Folman doesn’t detract from the moving, often challenging nature of this documentary. In what was a bloody conflict, Folman fills in the gaps from his own memory, using those who shared the same experience as he did, as several interviewees emotionally recount the trials, tribulations, and inhumanity they faced.
Stream on Tubi
The Act of Killing (2012)
The Act of Killing
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer,The Act of Killingoffers a no-holds-barred approach to revealing the terrors of the mass killings that unfolded in Indonesia between 1965 and 1966 at the hands of the Indonesian Army, as they targeted those of a leftist persuasion.
With an estimated death toll of half a million people,The Act of Killingemploys a unique technique of attempting to understand the thoughts, opinions, and motivations of not just the victims, but the perpetrators. The documentary film draws upon some unprecedented firsts, as Oppenheimer and his crew track down and interview some of the key figures in these mass executions, going as far as getting them to emulate some of the murders they carried out at the time. While this is a picture that is far more shocking than it is tear-inducing, it is a mortifying and genuinely devastating project.
Stream on Prime, Pluto, and Peacock
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
The 2018 documentary that was aired on the BBC to mark 100 years since the end of WWI has been exceptionally put together byLord of the Ringsauteur, Peter Jackson. Drawing upon archival footage, this documentary collates numerous stories, narrated by the men who served, and lived every minute of this terrifying, gruesome, and scarring ordeal. From the food they ate and their living conditions, to the memories they made with those they served alongside, and their aspirations once the war was concluded, are just some of the tear-jerking topics that are discussed.
Remastered documentaries bring the horrific reality of war to life for modern day audiences. There is a grainy, unsaturated detachment to old footage of the conflicts that ensued in mainland Europe during the 1910s and 1940s that place the spectator in a disconnected bubble.However, like that ofWWII in Colour,They Shall Not Grow Oldbrings the harsh barbarity of wartime to life, creating this very real, almost visceral experience, that is as saddening as it is utterly compelling.
Shoah (1985)
This seminal epic is an absolute masterpiece when it comes to the art of storytelling. 10 years in the making,Shoahcomprehensively deconstructs the totalitarian state that was the Third Reich, and the monstrous evils of the Holocaust that were carried out by those involved.
Released in 1985, this 10-hour-long chronicle details, using the accounts and testimonies of those who had their freedom, dignity, and lives stripped from them while in the Nazi concentration camps. This mesmerizing, informative and flawlessly made documentary well and truly tugs on the heartstrings of its audience, who bear witness to the painful reliving of these tragic events from those that were impacted most, and it rightly goes down as one of thebest documentaries on the holocaust of all time.
Stream on amc+
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Night Will Fall (2014)
From what was ostensibly thought to be lost archival footage,Night Will Falldeploys film that was seemingly forgotten about and left to gather dust in British archives. The documentary, directed by Andre Singer, follows the creation of the 1945 documentary, German Concentration Camps Factual Survey, which utilizes forage gathered by allied forces which exposes the sadistic barbarity of the Holocaust. The film was left incomplete, and abandoned, as it wasn’t seen as an essential work.
The Holocaust, has and will forever leave a permanent stain on the consciences of people across the world.Night Will Fallhighlights this episode of one of the largest mass killings of a single group of people, and the callous planning in which its perpetrators orchestrated such a prolific production line of mass murder. The footage used displays the liberation of those left in the concentration camps once the Nazis had surrendered, and the cold-blooded depravity they were victim of.
Currently unavailable to stream or rent
Night and Fog (1956)
As arguably, one of, if not the verybest war documentaries of all time,Night and Fog, directed by the attentive eye and lens of Alain Resnais, presents this collage, intercutting between a present day (1956) concentration camp with all its sinister, acutely distressing connotations and the horrifically upsetting archival video of what transpired there 10-15 years prior.
As with all stories of mass murder, there is an inherent sensitivity involved, yet, withNight and Fog, the documentary is composed in such a thought-provoking and poetic way that juxtaposes the natural beauty of life that has now consumed what was once a facility constructed with the sole purpose of committing genocide.
Stream on Max and Prime
Occupied City (2023)
Steve McQueen’s directorial prowess belongs with the best, and the established, Academy Award-winning auteur turns his hand to theupcoming war documentary,Occupied City, in what is an exquisitely made representation of life in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam. Premiering at Cannes, the picture is based on his wife, Bianca Stigter’s novel, Atlas of anOccupied City, Amsterdam 1940-1945. Detailing the day-to-day lives of those that inhabited the city during that period, and the oppressive regime they had forced upon them.
McQueen incorporates several unconventional techniques, with the most pertinent being the fact he relies heavily on present-day Amsterdam as his means to telling the story of what went on and where. This profoundly moving piece of visual literature is a tale of the forgotten people. Rarely are the Dutch mentioned in conversations about the Second World War, but in this particular instance, we get to understand the monumental suffering imposed on those in this famously picturesque city, as well as the slaughter and atrocities that were inflicted on the people of Amsterdam.
Due to be released on 25th December
