30 Gripping War Films That Defined 2015's Conflict Stories

April 9th

2015 • 93 min

Drama, War, History

On the morning of April 9, 1940, the Danish army receives word that German forces have crossed the border.

6.7

6.6

Stream on

Karbala

2015 • 115 min • Budget $3M

War, Drama

On April 3, 2004, during the Ashura holiday, Iraqi rebels supporting Shiite leader Muktada As-Sadr initiated an attack on the Polish sector. Polish soldiers, along with Bulgarian troops and Iraqi police, were tasked with defending City Hall, under the command…

5.2

6.1

Adama: The World of Wind

2015 • 85 min

Animation, Drama, War

In a secluded West African village nestled against cliffs, 12-year-old Adama lives a sheltered life. Beyond their protective cliffs lies a dangerous world inhabited by malevolent spirits eager for conflict. When his older brother Samba disappears, Adama resolves to find…

6.1

6.8

Stream on

Field of Lost Shoes

2015 • 96 min • Budget $6M

War, Drama, History

Teenage cadets at the Virginia Military Institute, shielded from war, are thrust into a brutal reality when they're ordered to defend the Shenandoah Valley. They must face the harsh realities of the adult world.

6.1

5.8

13+

Stream on

+11

Enclave

2015 • 92 min

War, Drama

Ten-year-old Nenad, a Christian living in a Serbian community in Kosovo, is determined to arrange a respectful burial for his grandfather. He ventures across lines of conflict and finds friendship with the Muslim community, who make up the majority of…

7.2

7.5

Stream on

The Battalion

2015 • 120 min • Box office $7M

War, Action, Drama

Russia, 1917. World War I. The film tells the story of the 1st Russian Women's Battalion of Death, created in late May 1917 by the Russian Provisional Government as part of a propaganda effort.

6.6

6.4

Heneral Luna

2015 • 118 min

Action, Drama, History

A Filipino general is convinced he holds the key to winning the Philippine-American War. He doesn't realize he's confronting the most significant danger to the revolution against the American invaders.

7.7

7.3

17+

Stream on

Northern Limit Line

2015 • 130 min

War, History

In 2002, South Korean patrol boats fought a deadly battle against North Korean patrol boats that crossed the Northern Limit Line and initiated an attack. This is a true story.

6.5

6.6

Stream on

Fires on the Plain

2015 • 87 min

War, Drama

During the last months of World War II, Japanese soldiers in the Philippines are surrounded by resistance from the Filipino people and the advancing American forces. As their numbers decrease, they struggle to survive amidst the brutal realities of war.

6.3

6.7

Stream on

The Four Days of Naples

1962 • 120 min • Budget $800K

Drama, War

Four people journey into the Alaskan wilderness pursuing self-sufficiency and their dreams. A single mother wants a different life for her son, a captain seeks a peaceful home with a stunning view, and a woodsman aims to build his cabin…

7.5

The Wakhan Front

2015 • 100 min

Drama, Fantasy, War

Afghanistan, 2014. With troop withdrawal imminent, Captain Antarès Bonassieu and his squad are tasked with a surveillance mission in the remote Wakhan Valley, bordering Pakistan. Despite their resolve, maintaining control of the isolated area proves increasingly difficult. Then, one night,…

6.3

Stream on

+11

Come What May

2015 • 114 min • Box office $1M

War, Drama

May 1940. As German troops advance into France, the residents of a small village in the Pas-de-Calais region, fearing the enemy's progress, follow the prefecture's instructions and abandon their homes, fleeing towards the coast.

6.3

6.7

17+

Stream on

1944

2015 • 100 min • Budget $2M

War, Drama

Set against the backdrop of the 1944 war, the film follows Estonian soldiers as they navigate a conflict fought between their own people, from the Blue Hills to the Sõrve Peninsula. The story explores the difficult choices faced by the…

6.8

7.0

Stream on

+14

Naked Among Wolves

2015 • 105 min

History, Drama, War

In late March 1945, at the Buchenwald concentration camp, prisoner Hans Pippig finds a Jewish child hidden in a carrying case with a new arrival. Reporting the child's presence would guarantee the three-year-old's death. However, helping the child would risk…

7.3

7.2

Stream on

Far from Men

2015 • 110 min • Budget $7M

Drama, War

During the Algerian War, a French teacher in a small village unexpectedly connects with a local man resisting the government. When he is ordered to be delivered to the authorities, their relationship is put to the test.

6.8

7.2

13+

Stream on

Beasts of No Nation

2015 • 137 min • Budget $6M • Box office $9M

Drama, War

This film follows Agu, a child caught in the civil war of a West African nation. He's compelled to join a group of soldiers. Though he both fears his commander and the other soldiers, the war has already destroyed his…

7.6

7.7

17+

Stream on

The Lost Bladesman

2011 • 107 min • Box office $23M

History, Drama, Action

In ancient China, during a time of conflict between three kingdoms, General Cao Cao, who secretly controls the Emperor, seeks to unify the country. He recruits Guan Yu, the nation's greatest warrior. But Guan Yu is a devoted friend of…

6.3

6.0

Stream on

The Dawns Here Are Quiet

2015 • 111 min • Budget $3M • Box office $5M

Drama, War

Late spring 1942. During the Great Patriotic War, deep behind the front lines, German paratroopers attempt to reach the Kirov railway and the White Sea-Baltic Canal. These are not ordinary soldiers; they are elite Waffen-SS infiltrators. Their path is blocked…

6.8

Stream on

A Perfect Day

2015 • 106 min • Box office $1M

Comedy, Drama, War

Balkans, 1995. A team of aid workers attempts to resolve a seemingly straightforward issue in a region recovering from a brutal war. However, they encounter persistent obstacles from local residents, withdrawing soldiers, UN personnel, livestock, and a frustratingly complex bureaucracy.

6.7

6.8

17+

Stream on

Flight World War II

2015 • 90 min

Action, Science Fiction, War

International Flight 42 is en route when a sudden, unusual storm engulfs the aircraft. The plane is thrown back in time to 1940, right in the middle of World War II. The crew and passengers must now find a way…

4.6

4.5

Stream on

Man Down

2015 • 90 min • Box office $167K

Thriller, Drama, War

A U.S. Marine returning from Afghanistan discovers his hometown is as troubled as the war zone he left behind. He and his close friend begin a desperate search for his missing wife and son. During their search, they encounter a…

6.0

17+

Stream on

+16

Macbeth

2015 • 113 min • Budget $15M • Box office $16M

Drama, War

A film adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth tells the story of General Macbeth, whose ambitious wife encourages him to seize the throne from King Duncan through treacherous actions.

6.5

6.6

17+

Stream on

+10

Land of Mine

2015 • 100 min • Budget $5M

War, Drama, History

After Germany's surrender in May 1945, a group of young German prisoners of war are transferred to Denmark and then sent to the West Coast. There, they are tasked with clearing over two million German landmines from the beaches. Under…

7.8

17+

Stream on

Little Boy

2015 • 106 min • Budget $20M • Box office $6M

Comedy, Drama, War

An eight-year-old boy is determined to bring his father home from World War II, willing to do anything to achieve that goal. The film explores the profound love between a father and son.

7.2

7.3

13+

Stream on

+11

Son of Saul

2015 • 107 min • Budget $1M • Box office $1M

War, Drama, Thriller

In 1944, at the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz, a prisoner tasked with cremating the bodies of fellow inmates struggles with his conscience. He attempts to secretly give a young boy, whom he sees as his own son, a proper…

7.1

7.4

17+

Stream on

Wolf Warrior

2015 • 90 min • Budget $12M • Box office $80M

Action, War

A highly skilled Chinese special forces soldier, renowned for his exceptional marksmanship, finds himself targeted by a team of ruthless foreign mercenaries. These mercenaries have been hired by a dangerous drug lord to assassinate him.

6.2

5.3

Stream on

+12

Hyena Road

2015 • 120 min • Box office $87K

War, Drama, Thriller

The film follows three men in distinct environments, each experiencing war differently. Their paths converge in the complex and morally ambiguous landscape of modern conflict, specifically within the Canadian Army's deployment in Afghanistan. It’s a dramatic examination of the war,…

6.8

6.5

17+

Stream on

+12

Battle for Sevastopol

2015 • 110 min • Budget $5M

War, Drama, Romance

This is the story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the most successful female sniper in history.

7.3

7.0

Stream on

Suite Française

2015 • 103 min • Budget $15M • Box office $9M

Drama, Romance, War

France, 1940. As the Nazis occupy the country, Lucile Angellier finds herself confined by her controlling mother-in-law while anxiously awaiting news of her husband, a prisoner of war. When Parisian refugees arrive in their town, followed by German soldiers taking…

7.2

7.0

Stream on

+12

Eye in the Sky

2015 • 102 min • Budget $13M • Box office $18M

Drama, Thriller, War

A British military officer leading a highly classified drone operation in Kenya to capture suspected terrorists learns the targets intend to carry out a suicide bombing. The mission shifts from capture to lethal force just as American pilot Steve Watts…

7.0

7.3

17+

Stream on