War Reviews and Features | Little White Lies

Genre War

Two soldiers, one in camouflage uniform, equipped with protective gear and holding a weapon, standing indoors.
Review

Warfare review – war, what is it good for?

by Hannah Strong

Alex Gar­land teams up with Iraq War vet­er­an Ray Men­doza for an evoca­tive but emp­ty war film, recre­at­ing a cat­a­stroph­ic day in Rama­di based on the mem­o­ries of Men­doza and his comrades.

2
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
A young person lying inside a dark, crumbling concrete tunnel, with graffiti visible on the walls.
Review

Nezouh review – compassionate but needlessly convoluted

by Hamza Shehryar

Soudade Kaadan’s sec­ond fea­ture is tru­is­tic yet force­ful in exam­in­ing the com­plex­i­ties of human suf­fer­ing and con­fine­ment through a teenage girl stuck in the thick of the Syr­i­an civ­il war.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Cluttered suburban garden with children's toys, old car, and small wooden shed.
Review

Occupied City review – a staggeringly ambitious feat of emotional stamina

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Steven McQueen pro­vides a haunt­ing exam­i­na­tion of Ams­ter­dam under Nazi occu­pa­tion in con­trast to its present in his doc­u­men­tary adapt­ed from Bian­ca Stigter’s book of the same name.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Scenic lake surrounded by forested hills, with a group of people sitting on the grass in the foreground.
Review

The Zone of Interest review – a towering, awful masterwork

by Hannah Strong

Jonathan Glaz­er’s stark film about the domes­tic rou­tine of the Höss fam­i­ly next door to Auschwitz is a colos­sal, pro­found­ly dis­turb­ing achieve­ment in filmmaking.

5
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Stern-faced soldier in military uniform and steel helmet, surrounded by other soldiers with similar expressions.
Review

All Quiet on the Western Front

by Finlay Spencer

Edward Berger’s trench-foot-and-all retelling of this clas­sic war sto­ry lacks orig­i­nal­i­ty in its brutality.

3
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
Two men in formal evening wear, one with a bow tie and the other with a waistcoat, standing together.
Review

Benediction

by Adam Woodward

Ter­ence Davies explores the trag­ic and com­plex life of World War I poet Siegfried Sas­soon in this ele­gant­ly mov­ing biopic.

4
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
5
In Retrospect
Two people embracing, a woman in a red dress and a man in a black suit, in a dimly lit room.
Review

Operation Mincemeat

by David Jenkins

Col­in Firth and Matthew Mac­fadyen team up to foil a Nazi plot in this like­able World War Two caper.

2
Anticipation
3
Enjoyment
3
In Retrospect
Two men in white shirts facing each other, one's head in front of the other's
Review

Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle

by David Jenkins

Arthur Harari charts the remark­able sto­ry of Japan­ese sol­dier Hiroo Ono­da, who refused to sur­ren­der at the end of World War Two.

3
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Review

Fatima

by Cheyenne Bart-Stewart

Mar­co Pontecorvo’s reli­gious dra­ma about an appari­tion of the Vir­gin Mary is unlike­ly to con­vert non-believers.

3
Anticipation
2
Enjoyment
2
In Retrospect
A young boy gazes intently at a large black crow perched nearby on the ground in this moody black and white photograph.
Review

The Painted Bird

by David Jenkins

A young boy nav­i­gates a war-rav­aged land­scape in Czech direc­tor Václav Marhoul’s bleak opus.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
A group of people wearing backpacks and hiking gear walking through a grassy field at sunset.
Review

Da 5 Bloods

by Leila Latif

Spike Lee tack­les black trau­ma, white sav­iourism and the inglo­ri­ous­ness of war in this sear­ing Viet­nam epic.

4
Anticipation
4
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect
Dusk setting, silhouetted buildings and trees, two people sitting on steps.
Review

Midnight Traveler

by Sophie Monks Kaufman

Afghan direc­tor Has­san Fazili doc­u­ments his family’s per­se­cu­tion at the hands of the Taliban.

3
Anticipation
5
Enjoyment
4
In Retrospect