Film Suggestions
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930, 1979) by Erich Remarque is about World War I. It is a very powerful story. The movie may be old (the original is black & white) but it has lost none of its power. The book is not too difficult, either, and could be read by youth, preferably with good discussion.
Angel & the Badman (1947, 2009) the original features John Wayne learning from a Quaker sweetheart to give up his gun!
Born on the 4th of July (1989) tells of a quadriplegic Vietnam veteran who finds new purpose by protesting the war.
Bowling For Columbine (2002) is a Michael Moore documentary about the Columbine shootings in 1999, and emphasizes the need for better gun laws. As with all of his films, it is exaggerated, but he makes good points and it’s a great starting point for discussion, especially for high school youth.
The Burmese Harp (1956) is set during World War II’s last days. This indelible antiwar drama chronicles a Japanese soldier’s transformation after coming face to face with the human cost of war. Sent to inform another platoon the war is over, Cpl. Mizushima can’t persuade the men to surrender and becomes the lone survivor when the British attack. It’s old, black and white, and subtitled, and the context is Asian/Buddhist, so choose your context wisely.
Cadillac Man (1989) in which Robin Williams is a used-car salesman who must calm down and eventually disarm a violent hostage-taking Tim Robbins.
The Diary of Anne Frank (1959, 2009) tells the true story of a teenage Jewish girl hiding with her family during WWII. We know of her through her diary.
Europa Europa (1990) is a true story about a young Jewish man in World War II who hides his identity and must live in fear of being found out.
Flowers of Rwanda: Making Peace with Genocide (2008) Can killers and survivors coexist in peace? That is the crucial question facing Rwanda a dozen years after the genocide that claimed the lives of approximately 800,000 people—and the subject of this multi-award-winning documentary. Using interviews with Joseph Habineza, Minister of Education and Culture; Freddy Mutanguha, director of the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center; and numerous survivors, Flowers of Rwanda considers whether forgiveness and reconciliation can truly be achieved so the country can eradicate the ignorance and extremism that paved the way for monumental atrocity.
For the Boys (1991) with Bette Midler may be a little too adult for pre-teens, but tells of an entertainment act put on “for the boys” despite the leading lady’s qualms about war.
For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943) is from Hemmingway’s novel about an American expatriate during the Spanish Civil War.
Friendly Persuasion (1956) This film teaches about the Quaker peace testimony in a “real life setting.” Though set in the Civil War era, it speaks to conditions today for the many who live in war zones as well as those of us whose war zones are our own lives. It shows the difficulty of living out our convictions. It is not a perfect portrayal of Quaker thought on this, but at least it opens dialogue.
Gallipoli (1981, 2006) shows the disastrous British attempt to take the Turkish port of Gallipoli during WWI, from the viewpoint of two Australian soldiers. The original stars Mel Gibson. The 2006 version is a docudrama.
Gandhi (1982) is the true story of the diminutive lawyer who stood up against British rule in India and became an international symbol of nonviolence and understanding.
Glory (1989) is an excellent movie with Denzel Washington and Matthew Broderick about the first black unit in the Civil War. It is not exactly anti-war, but deals with issues of social justice and the ugly side of war.
The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980, part 2 1988) is about a delightful, tiny African bushman who among other things faces down a lion and later sedates and disarms a group of terrorists.
Henry V (1989) by Kenneth Branaugh is an anti-war interpretation of Shakespeare’s play.
The Hiding Place (1975) is a WWII movie about Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian woman who with her sister and aged father hid many Jewish people in their home. Both women were single and in their fifties when a neighbor betrayed them to the occupying Nazis and they were taken to the death camps. Corrie’s sister Betsy died in Ravensbrook, one of the Dachau camps. Addresses the ethical dilemmas of lying to protect vulnerable people, and hatred vs. survival vs. forgiveness as ways to deal with great evil. Stars Anne Bancroft as Corrie.
Hotel Rwanda (2004) is based on the true story of one ordinary hotel manager (played by Don Cheadle) who musters the courage to save more than 1,000 helpless refugees during the genocide of 1994.
In Country (1989) is a powerful movie about the Vietnam war, seen through the eyes of an eighteen year-old girl, adapted from the book of the same name by Bobby Ann Mason. To find her own identity, she discovers she must come to know, and to come to grips with the loss of the father she never saw, killed in Vietnam shortly after she was born. Recreated in her own mind by reading his war letters and war diary is the essence of the combat experience–all the terror, discomfort, exhaustion, and slow deadening of the soul which takes place in the killing zone–presently almost surrealistically. As she works through her loss, her veteran uncle battle his own war demons. Catharsis will finally come in their pilgrimage to the Vietnam memorial. This film was intended to be a kind of reconciliation between those who fought and those who protested the Vietnam War.
Johnny Got His Gun (1971, 2008) is the story of a soldier who was wounded so badly that he has no way to communicate with others. Modern medicine is able to save his life and to keep him alive in a hospital. The power of the movie is its portrayal of the result of war on this human life through the details of a soldier who, to the world, is almost dead, and yet who maintains his mind’s powers undiminished. The 2008 version is a film of a one-man stage production.
The Killing Fields (1984) tells the story of a Cambodian during Pol Pot’s ‘Year One’. It is very intense and very violent, but it shows the utter devastation of the people caught in the Cambodian war and it’s aftermath. For older teens and adults.
Last Chance for Peace in Sierra Leone (2000) This compelling documentary shows the daring efforts of the Interreligious Council of Sierra Leone to press for peace and reconciliation in a country devastated by civil war. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, president of Sierra Leone; William Schulz, executive director of Amnesty International, U.S.A.; Diana Eck, of Harvard Divinity School; and others offer their views on topics including atrocities committed against civilians, the questionable Lomé Peace Accord, and the power of religion to affect politics. Sierra Leonean history provides a larger context for the program, while news footage and interviews with those directly affected bring home the reality of the civil war and its turbulent aftermath. (53 minutes)
Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed tells the true story of the entire town of Le Chambon in France, which cooperated to hide Jews during WWII, led by their pastor, André Trocmé. This is a documentary, and also a book.
Learning Peace: A Big School with a Big Heart (2002) Annapolis East Elementary School, in Nova Scotia—the first school in the world to be recognized under the Peaceful Schools International banner—has been actively addressing bullying and intimidation, with outstanding results. Filmed at Annapolis East over the course of a year, this program explains how school administrators launched a peace initiative designed to increase students’ understanding of and sensitivity toward cultural, religious, and physical differences while implementing a zero-tolerance policy for physical, verbal, and emotional violence. In addition, young students talk about how they have learned to identify and defuse belligerent behavior coming from others and within themselves. (58 minutes)
Little Big Man (1970) A movie about the American Indians, with Dustin Hoffman. Custer never looked so bad…and much of the movie is historically accurate.
Making Peace is a 7-part series showcasing inspiring stories of average people and their efforts to heal the causes of societal violence. While many people arm themselves against potential violence, or demand increased police protection, some people face it head-on, as teachers, mediators, or simply as concerned citizens.
MASH (1972 and following, film 1970) reruns are a helpful and fun way to watch something short that present (in a humorous manner) many of the problems with war.
The Milagro Beanfield War (1988) is about how one man resists corporate takeover, and his neighbors come to support him.
Paths of Glory (1957) stars Kirk Douglas, where he is a French general during WW I who realizes how stupid a war can be. This film attempts to show war as it really is: decisions that affect thousands of people’s lives taken inside generals’ offices, who don’t really care about finding the best solutions or solving differences as much as they care about keeping the lives of those under them.
Red Badge of Courage (1951) is a classic (black & white) and possibly too old, but still good.
The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966) is a very funny, older movie about the furor in an island off New England when a Russian sub accidentally goes aground there. An absolutely fabulous finale that brings everybody together in a creative way. Makes the cold war look utterly ridiculous.
Sergeant York (1941) deals with the reactions of a pacifist drafted into WWI. He doesn’t consistently stick to his pacifism, but shows how he deals with it when he doesn’t.
To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) tells the story of the young daughter of attorney Gregory Peck, who diffuses the aggressiveness of a lynch mob at the steps of a jail in the rural South.
The War Prayer (2006) is TV short movie made from Mark Twain’s story.
The War (1994) is about a man (Kevin Costner) from the southern US who was horribly damaged psychologically by the Vietnam War and is trying to teach his children the way of peace. There are some interesting contradictions in this film which make it good fuel for discussion. On a different level, parts of it are really a lot of fun. Overall, it is a sad but hopeful movie.
Weapons of the Spirit (1989) tells the true story of the entire town of Le Chambon in France, which cooperated to hide Jews during WWII, led by their pastor, André Trocmé. This is a documentary, and there is also a book called Lest Innocent Blood be Shed.
