When it comes to war movies, they tend to take the action-oriented or drama route, depicting a battle or war for the sake of spectacle or for a more intimate biopic. This isn’t a bad thing by any means, as there have been several remarkable films that fall into these categories. However, what is less common, and harder to pull off, is a war movie that not only looks at war itself, but also how it can affect other people, especially after witnessing these terrible conflicts.
Sometimes, these movies take audiences by the hand and throw them right into their worlds, so that the audience can understand the trauma that goes on underneath a soldier’s helmet. When this is pulled off, it really packs a punch, as it helps viewers feel the legacy of these heroic sacrifices, and sympathize with the main characters as they find themselves traumatized and anxious in their nightmarish daily lives. These are the most psychological war movies, which play into the human mind and the way it functions far more than any other films have.
10 ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ (2012)
Conflict: Global War on Terrorism (2001-)
Zero Dark Thirty tells the story of Maya (Jessica Chastain), whose real name is Alfreda Frances Bikowsky, a CIA analyst who was one of the key figures in the ten-year manhunt for terrorist leader Osama bin Laden. Though this movie doesn’t go in any particularly dark directions, it does explore the morality of Maya as she witnesses her fellow agents die in the field during meetings she scheduled and operations she provided information for.
As she grapples with herself and struggles to continue her mission, things begin getting worse and worse, until she at last locates America’s most wanted man in the world. When the deed is done and bin Laden is killed, Maya begins to shake and cry, feeling that she has expended so much effort into this one mission, and now it has been taken away, leaving her feeling without a purpose. Jessica Chastain brings a phenomenal performance as the CIA analyst, and portrays the background of what goes on during special forces missions, with Maya serving as a troubled, if efficient overseer for multiple aspects of the manhunt.
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9 ‘The Nightingale’ (2018)
Conflict: Black War (Mid-1820s-1832)
The Nightingale is actually a psychological horror that comes from Australian film director Jennifer Kent, known for her 2014 masterpiece The Babadook. The film takes place in the midst of Australia’s Black War, following an Irish woman named Clare (Aisling Franciosi) who has been exiled to Australia as a result of her crimes back in her homeland. At the time, Australia was a place where many British and Irish criminals were exiled, which makes the continent a highly hostile environment.
Before long, Clare is attacked by a band of ruffians, and sets out on a quest for revenge. Taking a critical look at the anger that can come with trauma, The Nightingale uses a lot of psychological techniques to amp up its fear factor, as well as put the audience into Clare’s shoes and feel the same things she does. It is brutal and gory, but it’s got some great narratives about war and about racism as a direct result of colonialism, the remnants of which can still be felt today.
8 ‘Dunkirk’ (2017)
Conflict: World War II (1939-1945)
In the early stages of World War II, France surrendered to Nazi Germany, causing many Allied British soldiers to become stranded on France’s northern coast, just across the pond from the land they call home. They have no choice but to wait for rescue as the Third Reich slowly creeps up behind them, pinning them between the German Armed Forces and the sea with no way out.
Christopher Nolan‘s Dunkirk portrays this losing battle through the eyes of the British, as the walls slowly begin to close in around them. The reason this one can be so psychological is due to its soundtrack and filming techniques. The score consists of lots of ticking sound effects, emphasizing how time is getting shorter and shorter, perfectly reflecting the sense of urgency and desperation felt by the British evacuees. The film plays into the natural anxiety of being a rat in a trap, essentially, and thrusts viewers into the boots of the British troops as the net becomes smaller around them. It’s an excellent film, but those prone to anxiety may only wish to view it once, as it can be very intense.
7 ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ (2022)
Conflict: World War I (1914-1918)
There have been a couple of different iterations of Erich Maria Remarque‘s classic novel All Quiet on the Western Front, but Netflix’s 2022 version is one that portrays the trauma and ruination of its main character better than the others. Young Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) is a German schoolboy of only 17 who is fooled by propaganda into joining the war effort with some of his best friends. What he finds is not fortune and glory, but a hellish onslaught of death which never lets up, even for a second.
Paul witnesses the deaths of his fellow comrades, which would have an effect on anyone. He goes from being a scared, but hopeful young man, to a rough, jaded individual with no real dreams or aspirations for the future, and it is written all over his face. The movie not only examines the impact of viewing death on such a large scale, but also the impact of killing, as Paul is forced to grapple with the morality of taking another’s life during times of war. Full of guilt, sadness, and downright apathy, All Quiet on the Western Front is extremely bleak, and reveals a darker part of the human mind that no one should ever see.
6 ‘Waltz with Bashir’ (2008)
Conflict: 1982 Lebanon War (1982)
Waltz with Bashir is an animated war docudrama that is written, directed, and produced by Ari Folman, who also stars in the film’s main role as himself. The story recounts Folman’s experience fighting in the 1982 Lebanon War, becoming disillusioned with the war effort as he witnesses the atrocities firsthand. Years later, Folman at last decides to visit a therapist and talk about his experiences, as he keeps receiving flashbacks and nightmares about the events he witnessed that still distress him.
Waltz with Bashir is criminally underrated, and actually received an Oscar nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film, though it sadly didn’t win. Using a unique colour pallette and based on a true story, Waltz with Bashir takes a long hard look at the mental health of soldiers, which can persist throughout their entire lives without treatment. It is a biting reminder that even if one quits the military or the war ends, their individual war is never, ever over.
Conflict: Vietnam War (1955-1975)
Stanley Kubrick‘s Full Metal Jacket is a movie that takes place during the Vietnam War, but is primarily about boot camp and the training process new American recruits go through in ordet to be deemed fit for service. The primary purpose of the training has always been to break these brave individuals down and build them up again until they are essentially a killing machine. This is a difficult process, not only physically due to the intense and rigorous physical training, but mentally, too.
The American recruits are subject to all kinds of abuse at the hands of their drill sergeant, causing some of them to turn on each other, or worse, to completely snap. Full Metal Jacket shows how being a soldier is never easy, if not because of the intense combat and trauma they witness, but also due to their training, which is intentionally hard and taxing, and can break anyone under the right circumstances.
4 ‘The Painted Bird’ (2019)
Conflict: World War II (1939-1945)
The Painted Bird takes place on the Eastern Front of World War II, and was filmed using the Interslavic Language, so that it wouldn’t need to identify with any one particular Slavic nation, and so that it would be more widely accessible. The monochrome film centres on the experiences of young ones during wartime, as well as the horrific violence and abuse they are subject to as a direct result of the fighting.
The Painted Bird
opted to show things that no other film would dare show, and is made all the better for it
Though the movie received some walkouts when it premiered due to its gruesome subject matter, it remains an emotionally moving and underrated masterpiece, dipping slightly into the psychological horror genre with how distressingly real it is. The Painted Bird opted to show things that no other film would dare show, and is made all the better for it. As a result, its main characters are deeply affected by the terrifying things they witness, and are completely changed by the evils present in the world. Dark and disturbing, The Painted Bird broke every rule in the book and still came out on top.
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3 ‘Come and See’ (1985)
Conflict: World War II (1939-1945)
Come and See hails from the former Soviet nation of Belarus, and takes place on the Eastern Front of World War II. A young man joins the partisans, and is subject to the horrors of war, which play out in front of him with shocking accuracy. Come and See is known for putting the audience right into the middle of the world’s deadliest conflict, portraying the conflict on a level of realism that no other film has portrayed. According to some veterans, the movie is neither over nor under-exaggerated–it is spot on with its graphic violence and visceral imagery.
With some of the most frighteningly realistic images ever committed to film, the young man at the movie’s centre begins to feel the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is only natural considering the horrors he is witnessing. Taking a critical look at the profound impact war can have on a person, Come and See is not only rule-breaking in its depictions of violence, but in its depictions of a broken man in a broken world.
2 ‘Apocalypse Now’ (1979)
Conflict: Vietnam War (1955-1975)
Apocalypse Now is based on an 1899 novella by Joseph Conrad called Heart of Darkness, though the film changes the setting entirely while keeping the plot more or less the same. In the film, a team of American soldiers aboard a patrol boat in Vietnam is sent upriver to locate a US Army colonel who has gone AWOL, and has formed a cult, which worships him as a sort of deity.
Francis Ford Coppola directs and doesn’t disappoint, as he portrays the plight of soldiers during the Vietnam War. The jungles Southeast Asia can be a difficult environment, especially considering the enemy combatants know their territory well and can be hiding anywhere at any given moment. As the boat travels, the crew aboard slowly begin to lose their grip on reality, and begin spiralling down into insanity as the horrors they witness increase more and more. Comimg as one of the greatest war films of all time, Apocalypse Now is also a frightening example of what the psyche can do to a person after witnessing repeated trauma.
1 ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ (1990)
Conflict: Vietnam War (1955-1975)
The most psychological war movie is without a doubt, Jacob’s Ladder. This war-horror movie is a bit surreal, but also pretty frightening. It stars Tim Robbins as Jacob Singer, a traumatized man who has just returned from a nightmarish deployment to the jungles of Vietnam. When he returns, nothing is as it should be. He begins witnessing strange creatures, and his sense of reality goes straight off the deep end as he is left scared, confused, and alone trying to figure out what’s going on.
The movie is quite complex due to its psychological themes, and probably warrants a rewatch or two due to its weaving narrative. For a while, it is never quite clear whether Jacob is really witnessing these things or if it’s just a side effect of PTSD. Jacob’s Ladder dives deep into the human brain, exploring the darkest, most secluded corners of it in which all logic and reason is thrown out the window and actuality itself becomes distorted. It is brilliant, yet underrated, and definitely serves as the most psychological war movie on account of its content.
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