Movies Like A Play Before The Bombs

If you liked A Play Before The Bombs (2021), a documentary and war movie directed by Roger Hill, 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
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…
2
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.
3
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…
4
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…
5
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…
6
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…
7
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?
8
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…
9
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.
10
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.
11
Maternal Instinct (2026)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
Police pull over a woman who claims she just gave birth. But the baby — and the blood — aren't hers. Twisted lies unravel in this true-crime documentary.
12
Aquaman: Heroines of Atlantis (2019)
★ 6.2/10Also documentary
Amber Heard and Nicole Kidman discuss their characters Mera and Atlanna.
13
Five Broken Cameras (2011)
★ 7.5/10Also war and documentary
Five broken cameras – and each one has a powerful tale to tell. Embedded in the bullet-ridden remains of digital technology is the story of Emad Burnat, a farmer from the Palestinian village of Bil’in, which famously…
14
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.
15
Last Days in Vietnam (2014)
★ 7.3/10Also war and documentary
During the chaotic final weeks of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon as the panicked South Vietnamese people desperately attempt to escape. On the ground, American soldiers and diplomats…
16
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.
17
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.
18
Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
19
Deliver Us from Evil (2006)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a…
20
Heart of a Dog (2015)
★ 6.5/10Also documentary
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.