Most war movies feature explosive action on the battlefield, but some stories about the home front in World War II can be just as captivating. With so many men sent to fight overseas, society became unrecognizable for those left behind. Women entered the workforce in droves, children were left without fathers, and millions of people contributed to the war effort in whatever ways they could. These changes provided the backdrop for some remarkable stories across the globe. People were faced with extraordinary circumstances in their own hometowns, and the war loomed large over their daily lives.
Some movies set on the home front focus on the efforts of scientists and others who were directly involved in supporting soldiers overseas, while other movies simply use war as a backdrop for human dramas. In either case, the threat of war raises the stakes, and characters are forced to react to unfamiliar situations. Movies set far from the battlefields of World War II often have just enough separation to look at the lighter side of things, but their humor often conceals the darker thoughts and fears which many people felt. Movies about domestic life during World War II create a unique subgenre, away from the war but affected by it nonetheless.
10 Oppenheimer (2023)
The Manhattan Project
Christopher Nolan’s scintillating biopic about J. Robert Oppenheimer shows the intense dedication of scientists and politicians far away from the battlefields of World War II. It manages to combine grand global politics with acutely observed character studies. Oppenheimer boasts a remarkable cast, and almost all the characters on screen are drawn from real life. There are plenty of fascinating scientists who could easily be the focus of their own biopics, like Niels Bohr and Richard Feynman, but Nolan’s outstanding achievement is how he masterfully combines all of these stories into one compelling narrative. Oscar nominations are all but certain to arrive.
9 Dad’s Army (1971)
The United Kingdom’s Home Guard
Comedy war movies are a rare breed, given the heft and intensity that the war genre is usually associated with. British sitcom Dad’s Army pokes fun at German incompetence and arrogance while simultaneously lampooning distinctly British foibles. The sitcom spawned a movie in 1971, which sees the elderly volunteers of the Walmington-on-Sea branch of the British Home Guard bungling one simple task after another. It’s a proudly silly romp featuring a healthy dose of slapstick and a cast who are not afraid to embarrass themselves. Their inept leader, Captain Mainwaring, has a place alongside Basil Fawlty and Mr. Bean in the pantheon of Great British buffoons.
8 Summer of ’42 (1971)
Coming-of-age romance in Massachusetts
Based on the experiences of screenwriter Herman “Hermie” Raucher, Summer of ’42 follows a 15-year-old boy on vacation on Nantucket Island who develops a romantic fascination with a woman whose husband goes to fight in Europe. Hermie and his friends share an obsession with losing their virginity, which contrasts with the seriousness of the war which takes place on the periphery of the story. Hermie can never relate to Dorothy, but he is struck by her beauty and pursues her nonetheless. Summer of ’42 shows the ripple effect which World War II had on whole communities, not just the soldiers who had to leave home.
7 Australia (2008)
Cattle ranching in northern Australia
Baz Luhrmann’s outback adventure movie stars Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman as a tough rancher and the British aristocrat who enlists his services. It’s a sweeping, grandiose epic with an earnest sentimentality. Jackman and Kidman’s characters form an unlikely bond in the vast Australian outback, although there are persistent reminders of war to bring them back to reality. For all its gorgeous scenery and meticulous characterization, Australia also manages to shine a light on lesser-known chapters of the war, such as the bombing of Darwin by Japanese forces. Luhrmann recently released an extended version of the movie as a miniseries, titled Faraway Downs.
6 A League of Their Own (1992)
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League
With most men of fighting age sent overseas, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League sprang up as a way of providing entertaining baseball to the masses left behind. The real history of A League of Their Own is just as interesting as the movie, which puts a comedic spin on events. Director Penny Marshall gets a lot out of her ensemble cast, particularly Geena Davis and Tom Hanks, who shine as a nervous catcher and her world-weary coach. In some ways, it’s a classic comedic tale of people in unfamiliar situations, but A League of Their Own also has a lot to say about the second-class status of women’s sports.
5 Jojo Rabbit (2019)
The Hitler Youth
Taika Waititi’s surreal take-down of Nazism focuses on a young German boy whose imaginary friend Adolf Hitler follows him around. Jojo Rabbit features hilarious quotes in tandem with a much darker side, which comes to the fore when Jojo finds his mother hanging in the town square. For a comedy, Jojo Rabbit doesn’t shy away from depicting the cruelty of the Nazi regime, but everything is colored by Waititi’s idiosyncratic charm. Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson, and Stephen Merchant each make huge contributions to the outstanding cast, managing to carefully strike the right tone in a comedy which could easily have been bogged down by the presence of Hitler.
4 Hope & Glory (1987)
Childhood during the Blitz
Based on the experiences of writer-director John Boorman, Hope and Glory is the story of a childhood in the rubble of wartime London. Billy and his friends see the bombed-out brick buildings as wonderful new playgrounds, and they think of the German bombs falling in the night as a kind of fireworks show. Billy and his family eventually evacuate the city, and they find solace in the countryside. Hope and Glory is a tender tribute to youthful imagination. Children rejoice when their school is destroyed by a bomb, and their infectious delight even reshapes how their parents start to think about their lives in such a dangerous time.
3 Racing with the Moon (1984)
Young men waiting for their deployment
Sean Penn and Nicolas Cage star as two friends in California who have about six weeks before shipping out to serve overseas, and they try to make the most of their short time at home. Penn gives a mature and sincere performance as Henry, who falls for a local girl and sets off on a whirlwind romance. Although both men are constantly aware of their time slowly ticking away, they try not to think too much about what awaits them in the war. At the end, both men consider letting their train pass them by, but they ultimately find enough courage to chase after it and leave home.
2 Their Finest (2016)
The British Ministry of Information
Their Finest is a war movie about making war movies. Gemma Arterton plays Catrin, a screenwriter employed by the Ministry of Information to make an uplifting movie about the evacuation of Dunkirk. Her debates with her co-writers reflect the real-world filmmaking conundrum of whether historical accuracy should be prized above all else, or whether certain truths can be bent in service of a compelling narrative. Their Finest shows the inside workings of the British propaganda machine, which sought to boost the nation’s spirits in times of rationing and air raids. The movie has a broadly positive message, although it notes wartime Britain’s disrespect toward women in the workplace.
1 The Imitation Game (2014)
Alan Turing and Bletchley Park
Benedict Cumberbatch delivers a career-best performance as British mathematician Alan Turing, whose work in decoding the German Enigma code, which helped turn the tide of World War II in favor of the allies. The Imitation Game is a British Oppenheimer of sorts, in that it features a group of brilliant analytical minds using science in their war against the enemy. The true story of The Imitation Game was more of a collaborative effort than the movie depicts, and there are some other tweaks to the story, but The Imitation Game is boldly critical of the government’s treatment of Turing, shining a light on his tragic death.
