There have been many stories depicting the gore and horrors of the First and Second World Wars. But every once in a while there comes a movie that gives a new perspective to life during war time.  SUBHAGATA BHATTACHARYA lists a few that should feature in your must-watch list

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (Fiction)

Rated PG-13 for some mature the- matic
material involving the Holocaust

This Holocaust drama explores the horror of a World War II Nazi massacre camp through the eyes of two 8-year-olds; Bruno (Asa Butterfield), and Shmuel (Jack Scanlon), a Jewish inmate. Bruno’s innocence protected him from the harsh reality of the world around him, and this allowed him to see the truth, to realise right from wrong by being able to reach out to people on the other side of the fence.

USP: The film speaks — along with the historical significance and remembrance of the Holocaust — about the dignity and value of human life, and of the necessity of empathy even in the darkest of hours.

The Book Thief (Fiction)

Rated PG-13 for some violence and intense
depiction of thematic material

When ‘Death’ tells a story, you have to listen, says ‘The Book Thief’. The film provides a fresh perspective of life amid the gore and horror of the Holocaust. The brutal reality of mass murder, sights of children in Third Reich uniforms and blanket bombings when portrayed through the innocence of a child’s eyes (played by Sophie Nélisse), gives war times a different meaning.

USP: Young Liesel  finds solace by stealing books, learning to read and creating a world that inspires us all. She shows us how grief can be overcome in the most trying of times.
Word Watch: Holocaust: The mass murder of Jews under the Nazi regime (1941-45).

The Imitation Game (based on true events)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material

The film is based on the real story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing. It portrays the race against time by Turing, and his team of code-breakers, at Britain’s top-secret government  school at Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II. Leading a group of people, Turing  cracked the  codes of Germany’s World War II Enigma machine. 

USP: The film provides the one piece in the jigsaw puzzle of World War II that was kept largely hidden from the world.

Did You Know: Alan Turing’s PhD thesis on computable numbers laid the groundwork for development of modern day computing systems.

Joyeux Noel (Fiction)

Rated PG-13 on appeal for some war violence

The film depicts a lot of bloodshed, especially in an early exchange of fire (during the time of World War I. But on Christmas Eve, the movie manages to establish ‘the brotherhood of man’. The soldiers in the films, from France, Scotland and Germany, are meticulously depicted as equal-opportunity peacemakers. On Christmas Eve of that year, the lonely souls on the frontlines abandoned their arms to reach out to their enemies on the battlefield and greet them — not with anger or hostility — but with the simple, kind gesture of a much needed and treasured piece of chocolate. All this to wish their brothers a sincere Merry Christmas!

USP: By calling an informal and unauthorised truce, this true-life wartime event offers hope for peace in mankind’s darkest hour.

Word Watch: Truce: An agreement between enemies or opponents to stop fighting or arguing for a certain period of time.

Downfall (Fiction)

Rated R for strong violence, disturbing images

D ownfall’ is an illuminating, thoughtful and detailed account of Adolf Hitler’s last days. By emphasising the pain of Hitler’s defeat, Bruno Ganz, who plays the role of the Fuhrer has made the dictator into a plausible human being. The film portrayed a lesser known perspective about Hitler — that he was kind to his cook and his young secretaries, loved his dog and was surrounded by loyal subordinates. The film is shot inside the bunker beneath Berlin where Hitler and his inner circle spent their final days, and died.

USP: The movie provides a real life account of the situation penned down by a young secretary about the final days of Hitler’s Third Reich, after any hope of victory had faded.

Word Watch: Third Reich: Nazi Regime
*R rated movies can be watched under parental guidance

Grave of the Fireflies (Fiction)

Unrated (Suggested MPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature
thematic material, war violence, disturbing images)

The film may focus on children, but is a profoundly grown-up tale of war and loss. It shows the struggle of a teenage boy, who after death of his mother due to a bombing in his town and their father out on the line of duty, struggles to feed himself and his five-year-old sister. Though commonly described as an anti-war film, the director has denied this.

USP: It details  methods used by children to block out the horrors of the world through daydreaming, fantasy and hope.

Did You Know: Most illustrations in the film are in brown, instead of black. Colour coordinator Michiyo Yasuda said this was done to give the film a softer feel.