Movies Like Violent Childhood

If you liked Violent Childhood (1989), a movie directed by Nguyễn Vinh Sơn, 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
Defiance (2008)
★ 6.8/10
Based on a true story, during World War II, four Jewish brothers escape their Nazi-occupied homeland of West Belarus in Poland and join the Soviet partisans to combat the Nazis. The brothers begin the rescue of roughly…
2
Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
★ 6.9/10
A hard-nosed, hard-living Marine gunnery sergeant clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.
3
Lucky Strike (2026)
★ 6.6/10
A wounded American soldier fights to survive behind enemy lines during WWII's Battle of the Bulge against the Germans, relying on his instinct, spy craft and a hand-radio to evade capture and find his way back to his…
4
Little Boy (2015)
★ 7.3/10
An eight-year-old boy is willing to do whatever it takes to end World War II so he can bring his father home. The story reveals the indescribable love a father has for his little boy and the love a son has for his…
5
The Cardinal (1963)
★ 6.5/10
A young Catholic priest from Boston confronts bigotry, Nazism, and his own personal conflicts as he rises to the office of cardinal.
6
Bunker (2023)
★ 6.7/10
Trapped in a bunker during World War I, a group of soldiers are faced with an ungodly presence that slowly turns them against each other.
7
Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (2019)
★ 6.8/10
Vietnam War, 1966. Australia and New Zealand send troops to support the United States and South Vietnamese in their fight against the communist North. Soldiers are very young men, recruits and volunteers who have never…
8
The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1970)
★ 6.9/10
During World War II, Italian villagers hide their wine from the German army.
9
When Trumpets Fade (1998)
★ 6.6/10
In WWII Western Germany, Private David Manning reluctantly leaves behind a mortally wounded fellow soldier and searches for survivors from his platoon, only to learn from commanding officer Captain Pritchett that they…
10
The Young Lions (1958)
★ 6.7/10
The lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.
11
Cross of Iron (1977)
★ 7.1/10
It is 1943, and the German army—ravaged and demoralised—is hastily retreating from the Russian front. In the midst of the madness, conflict brews between the aristocratic yet ultimately pusillanimous Captain Stransky…
12
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966)
★ 5.9/10
A by-the-book Captain is ordered to capture a strategic village in Italy. The Italian soldiers are willing to surrender, if they can have a festival first. The lieutenant convinces the Captain this is the only way…
13
Chimes at Midnight (1965)
★ 7.2/10
Henry IV usurps the English throne, sets in motion the factious War of the Roses and now faces a rebellion led by Northumberland scion Hotspur. Henry's heir, Prince Hal, is a ne'er-do-well carouser who drinks and…
14
Block-Heads (1938)
★ 7/10
It's 1938, but Stan doesn't know the war is over; he's still patrolling the trenches in France, and shoots down a French aviator. Oliver sees his old chum's picture in the paper and goes to visit Stan who has now been…
15
Wolf Hound (2022)
★ 6.4/10
Inspired by the real-life German special operations unit KG 200 that shot down, repaired, and flew Allied aircraft as Trojan horses, "Wolf Hound" takes place in 1944 German-occupied France and follows the daring…
16
The War (1994)
★ 6.7/10
The son of a Vietnam War Veteran must deal with neighborhood bullies as well as his dad's post-traumatic stress disorder while growing up in the deep south in the 1970's.
17
Catch-22 (1970)
★ 6.7/10
A WWII military pilot makes a valiant effort to be certified insane in order to be excused from flying missions. But there's a catch.
18
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
★ 8.1/10
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
19
Red Dawn (1984)
★ 6.3/10
It is the dawn of World War III. In mid-western America, a group of teenagers band together to defend their town—and their country—from invading Soviet forces.
20
Kelly's Heroes (1970)
★ 7.4/10
A misfit group of World War II American soldiers goes AWOL to rob a bank behind German lines.