Movies like The Children of the War (1984)
The best movies like The Children of the War (1984) are The Scarlet and the Black (1983), Behold a Pale Horse (1964) and Waiting for Anya (2020). If The Children of the War hooked you with its war and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Beast of War (1988)7.1/10 from 231 votes
- NewestPozos (2026)Released 2026
- In SpanishBlessed by Fire (2005)Also in Spanish
The Scarlet and the Black (1983)
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBehold a Pale Horse (1964)
Manuel Artiguez, a famous bandit during the Spanish civil war, has lived in French exile for 20 years. When his mother is dying he considers visiting her secretly in his Spanish home town. But his biggest enemy, the Spanish police officer Vinolas, prepared a trap at the hospital as a chance to finally catch Artiguez.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWaiting for Anya (2020)
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJacknife (1989)
A conflict develops between a troubled Vietnam veteran and the sister he lives with when she becomes involved romantically with the army buddy who reminds him of the tragic battle they both survived.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe One That Got Away (1957)
Based on the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain to escape back to Germany during the Second World War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMen in War (1957)
In Korea, on 6 September 1950, Lieutenant Benson's platoon finds itself isolated in enemy-held territory after a retreat. Soon they are joined by Sergeant Montana, whose overriding concern is caring for his catatonic colonel. Benson and Montana can't stand each other, but together they must get the survivors to Hill 465, where they hope the division is waiting. It's a long, harrowing march, fraught with all the dangers the elusive enemy can summon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisField of Lost Shoes (2015)
A group of teenage cadets sheltered from war at the Virginia Military Institute must confront the horrors of an adult world when they are called upon to defend the Shenandoah Valley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCast a Giant Shadow (1966)
An American Army officer is recruited by the yet to exist Israel to help them form an army. He is disturbed by this sudden appeal to his Jewish heritage. Each of Israel's Arab neighbors has vowed to invade the poorly prepared country as soon as partition is granted. He is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOutlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMax (2002)
In 1918, a young, disillusioned Adolf Hitler strikes up a friendship with a Jewish art dealer while weighing a life of passion for art vs. talent at politics
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalking with the Enemy (2014)
Regent Horthy is the leader of Hungary and a German ally, but his favorable standing with Hitler changes as the war comes to an end. Forced to cede Hungary’s power or else witness the execution of his son, Regent Horthy gives up control of his country to the Nazis, who quickly move Hungarians to ghettos and death camps, with no hope in sight. But the despair changes when a young man named Elek emerges. Separated from his family during the relocations and aided by the woman he loves , Elek defies the enemy by becoming one of them. In a race against time, disguised as a Nazi Officer he embarks on a mission to save his family and thousands of his countrymen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe War Below (2021)
During World War I, a group of British miners are recruited to tunnel underneath no man's land and set bombs from below the German front in hopes of breaking the deadly stalemate of the Battle of Messines.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)
During a raid on Germany, a British bomber crew is forced to bail out after their plane is damaged. They land in Holland, where they're aided by Dutch civilians.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Midnight Clear (1992)
In 1944 France, an American Intelligence Squad locates a German Platoon wishing to surrender rather than die in Germany's final war offensive. The two groups of men, isolated from the war at present, put aside their differences and spend Christmas together before the surrender plan turns bad and both sides are forced to fight the other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCloak and Dagger (1946)
Italian partisans help a professor sent by the OSS to find an atomic scientist held by Nazis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
A dramatization of the American general and his court martial for publically complaining about High Command's dismissal and neglect of the aerial fighting forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Beast of War (1988)
During the war in Afghanistan a Soviet tank crew commanded by a tyrannical officer find themselves lost and in a struggle against a band of Mujahadeen guerrillas in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHornblower: The Examination for Lieutenant (1998)
Acting Lieutenant Hornblower attempts to study for his promotion examination, but becomes distracted by the serious supply problems that face his crew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secrets We Keep (2020)
In post-World War II America, a woman, rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband, kidnaps her neighbor and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlessed by Fire (2005)
A war veteran, haunted by the horrors of war and the experiences he shared with fellow soldiers drafted to the battlefront as an 18-year-old conscript, is forced to confront the memories of his past after a former comrade attempts suicide. 20 years after the war, he finally attempts to reconnect with his past to begin to heal his old wounds.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Underlying Silence (2023)
An ex-combatant is admitted to a psychiatric facility due to what happened in the Falklands War. During his stay in that institution, he will find a purpose to fight against the treatments that tend to harm him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
El retorno (2014)
Edgardo faces everyday life. His children, his wife, his entire family seem strange and distant. His thoughts are subjugated by images of the Falklands: the combat, the fear, the death. Traumatic memories that absorb his attention until he becomes a stranger to his loved ones. One day like any other, while walking the children to school, he must finally face his inner ghosts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Thousand Yard Stare (2023)
Victor, a retired Argentine lieutenant from the Falklands War, is hospitalized as a result of catatonia. Through a dreamlike and dark journey, he goes into the darkness of his mind, where different ghosts from his past won't leave until they are satisfied.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Saudade (2022)
Aurora and Bernardo are experiencing moments of happiness, but their joy is interrupted by the onset of war.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Resurrected (1989)
A Falklands War soldier missing, believed dead, turns up claiming amnesia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Frecuencia 82: Malvinas Argentinas (2026)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Pozos (2026)
A former combatant of the Malvinas war reviews historical events of his life while Alzheimer's progresses little by little inside of him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tras un Manto de Neblinas (2023)
The documentary tells the first-person story of what seven veterans experienced during the Malvinas War through their childhood and adolescence, sharing life in a town in the interior of Córdoba. The military service, the landing, the waiting, the cold, the hunger, the fear, the battles, and the return to their village. "I want them to know about my war," says Jorge, taking off his beret as a sign of respect for those who lost their lives in the Malvinas. Today, more than 40 years after the war, they recount what those 74 days were like that marked their lives forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Las aspirantes (2017)
A story that explores the role of women in the Malvinas War. The protagonist, leader of a group of veteran nurses, commits suicide while this documentary is being filmed. Her companions took on her legacy and continue the fight for recognition in the face of the silence of history and the Argentine Navy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Children of the War?
The closest matches to The Children of the War are The Scarlet and the Black (1983), Behold a Pale Horse (1964) and Waiting for Anya (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Children of the War?
Start with The Scarlet and the Black (1983), the closest match to The Children of the War.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Children of the War?
The Beast of War (1988), rated 7.1/10 by 231 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Children of the War?
Pozos (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Spanish movies like The Children of the War?
Yes: Blessed by Fire (2005), Underlying Silence (2023) and El retorno (2014).
How are movies similar to The Children of the War chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Children of the War, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.