Movies Like Return to Life

If you liked Return to Life (1937), a war and documentary movie directed by Herbert Kline and Henri Cartier-Bresson, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
The Battle of San Pietro (1945)
★ 6.1/10Also war and documentary
This documentary movie is about the battle of San Pietro, a small village in Italy. Over 1,100 US soldiers were killed while trying to take this location, that blocked the way for the Allied forces from the Germans…
2
The Soviet Story (2008)
★ 7.3/10Also documentary and war
“The Soviet Story” is a story of an Allied power, which helped the Nazis to fight Jews and which slaughtered its own people on an industrial scale. Assisted by the West, this power triumphed on May 9th, 1945. Its…
3
2000 Meters to Andriivka (2025)
★ 8.1/10Also documentary and war
Amid the failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther…
4
For Sama (2019)
★ 8.2/10Also documentary and war
A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all…
5
Why We Fight: Prelude to War (1942)
★ 6.4/10Also documentary and war
Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the…
6
Father Soldier Son (2020)
★ 6.5/10Also documentary and war
When Sgt. First Class Brian Eisch is critically wounded in Afghanistan, it sets him and his sons on a journey of love, loss, redemption and legacy.
7
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
★ 7.8/10Also documentary and war
A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of Armistice Day, and the end of the war.
8
The Age of Stupid (2009)
★ 6.6/10Also war and documentary
Pete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
9
City of Ghosts (2017)
★ 7.2/10Also war and documentary
With unprecedented access, this documentary follows the extraordinary journey of “Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently”—a group of anonymous citizen journalists who banded together after their homeland was overtaken by…
10
20 Days in Mariupol (2023)
★ 8.1/10Also documentary and war
As the Russian invasion begins, a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting the war's atrocities.
11
Let There Be Light (1946)
★ 7.3/10Also documentary and war
The final entry in a trilogy of films produced for the U.S. government by John Huston. Some returning combat veterans suffer scars that are more psychological than physical. This film follows patients and staff during…
12
The Kill Team (2013)
★ 6.9/10Also war and documentary
In 2010, the media branded a platoon of U.S. Army infantry soldiers “The Kill Team” following reports of its killing for sport in Afghanistan. Now, one of the accused must fight the government he defended on the…
13
Korengal (2014)
★ 6.6/10Also documentary and war
Korengal picks up where Restrepo left off; the same men, the same valley, the same commanders, but a very different look at the experience of war.
14
Bitter Lake (2015)
★ 7.6/10Also documentary
An experimental documentary that explores Saudi Arabia's relationship with the U.S. and the role this has played in the war in Afghanistan.
15
Night and Fog (1956)
★ 8.3/10Also documentary
Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.
16
Fuck (2006)
★ 6.4/10Also documentary
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
17
WWII From Space (2012)
★ 7.4/10Also documentary and war
WWII from Space delivers World War II in a way you've never experienced it before. This HISTORY special uses an all-seeing CGI eye that offers a satellite view of the conflict, allowing you to experience it in a way…
18
A Toxic Love Story (2026)
★ 6.4/10Also documentary
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
19
The Battle of Midway (1942)
★ 5.9/10Also documentary and war
The Japanese attack on Midway in June 1942, filmed as it happened. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, in 2006.
20
Sidney (2022)
★ 6.9/10Also documentary
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.