children in war movies
by classic-cap | created - 19 Jan 2013 | updated - 17 Aug 2022 | Public
this list is to show movies where a child/teenager are the main protagonist or plays a big part in the movie.
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1. Edges of the Lord (2001)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A twelve-year-old Jewish boy hides with a family of Catholic peasant farmers to escape the Nazis.
Director: Yurek Bogayevicz | Stars: Haley Joel Osment, Willem Dafoe, Richard Banel, Liam Hess
Votes: 3,692
2. Empire of the Sun (1987)
PG | 153 min | Drama, War
A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers
Votes: 134,205 | Gross: $22.24M
3. Hope and Glory (1987)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Bill, a young boy living on the outskirts of London experiences the exhilaration of World War II. During this period, Bill learns about sex, death, love, hypocrisy, and the faults of adults as he prowls the ruins of bombed houses.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Sarah Miles, David Hayman, Sebastian Rice-Edwards, Geraldine Muir
Votes: 14,588 | Gross: $10.02M
4. Fortress of War (2010)
Not Rated | 138 min | Action, Drama, History
A war drama set during the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, in which Soviet troops held on to a border stronghold for nine days.
Director: Aleksandr Kott | Stars: Aleksey Kopashov, Andrey Merzlikin, Pavel Derevyanko, Aleksandr Korshunov
Votes: 10,510
5. I Am David (2003)
PG | 90 min | Adventure, Drama
A twelve-year-old boy escapes from a Bulgarian Communist concentration camp and sets out on a journey to reach Denmark.
Director: Paul Feig | Stars: Ben Tibber, Jim Caviezel, Joan Plowright, Hristo Shopov
Votes: 8,126 | Gross: $0.28M
6. The Island on Bird Street (1997)
PG-13 | 107 min | Biography, Drama, War
During World War II a Jewish boy is left on his own for months in a ruined house in the Warsaw Ghetto, where he must learn all the tricks of survival under constantly life-threatening conditions.
Director: Søren Kragh-Jacobsen | Stars: Patrick Bergin, Jordan Kiziuk, Jack Warden, James Bolam
Votes: 1,895
7. Secrets of War (2014)
95 min | Drama, Family, History
During WWII, the friendship of two boys is at risk when a girl tells a very personal secret to only one of them.
Director: Dennis Bots | Stars: Maas Bronkhuyzen, Joes Brauers, Michael Nierse, Tonko Bossen
Votes: 2,084
8. Zaytoun (2012)
Not Rated | 110 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Beirut, 1982: a young Palestinian refugee helps an Israeli fighter pilot escape from PLO captivity because he wants to visit his ancestral family home. En route through war-torn Lebanon their relationship develops into a close bond.
Director: Eran Riklis | Stars: Stephen Dorff, Abdallah El Akal, Alice Taglioni, Loai Nofi
Votes: 1,725 | Gross: $0.04M
9. Johnny Mad Dog (2008)
98 min | Drama, War
A cast of unknown performers are used in this drama about child soldiers fighting a war in the West African Country Liberia.
Director: Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire | Stars: Christophe Minie, Daisy Victoria Vandy, Joseph Duo, Dagbeth Tweh
Votes: 3,531
10. Beasts of No Nation (2015)
TV-MA | 137 min | Drama, War
A drama based on the experiences of Agu, a child soldier fighting in the civil war of an unnamed African country.
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga | Stars: Abraham Attah, Emmanuel Affadzi, Ricky Adelayitor, Andrew Adote
Votes: 86,769 | Gross: $0.08M
11. Killer Kid (1994)
90 min | Drama, War
A Lebanese kid is sent to France on a terrorist mission for "Allah's Army". An Lebanese French kid becomes involved unwittingly. A bond develops between the two, while they become alienated... See full summary »
Director: Gilles de Maistre | Stars: Tewfik Jallab, Younesse Boudache, Salah Teskouk, Fatiha Cheriguene
Votes: 237
12. Into the West (1992)
PG | 97 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
Grandpa Ward gives a horse he found to his grandchildren, who keep it in their tower-block flat in Dublin. The horse is stolen from them, and the two young boys set out to find it and flee on it.
Director: Mike Newell | Stars: Gabriel Byrne, Ellen Barkin, Ciarán Fitzgerald, Rúaidhrí Conroy
Votes: 3,180 | Gross: $4.79M
13. An Angel for May (2002 TV Movie)
TV-G | 95 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
Tom travels fifty years to the past after discovering a time machine. He meets May, a little orphan who needs help. Now that he knows his friends' fate and his own, he will try to reorder the events and change their history.
Director: Harley Cokeliss | Stars: Tom Wilkinson, Charlotte Wakefield, Matthew Beard, Hugo Speer
Votes: 988
14. The White King (2016)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A 12-year-old boy rebels after a brutal government labels his father a traitor and imprisons him.
Directors: Alex Helfrecht, Jörg Tittel | Stars: Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Fiona Shaw, Olivia Williams, Greta Scacchi
Votes: 4,776
15. Lena: My 100 Children (1987 TV Movie)
100 min | Drama, History
At the end of World War II Lena Kuchler arrives at a refuge camp in search of her disappeared family members. But at this place she can get no information in her case but only encounters hungry children.
Director: Edwin Sherin | Stars: Linda Lavin, Torquil Campbell, Lenore Harris, Cynthia Wilde
Votes: 149
16. Goodbye, Children (1987)
PG | 104 min | Drama, War
A French boarding school run by priests seems to be a haven from World War II until a new student arrives. Occupying the next bed in the dormitory to the top student in his class, the two young boys begin to form a bond.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejtö, Francine Racette, Stanislas Carré de Malberg
Votes: 36,099 | Gross: $4.54M
17. First They Killed My Father (2017)
TV-MA | 136 min | Biography, Drama, History
Cambodian author and human rights activist Loung Ung recounts the horrors she suffered as a child under the rule of the deadly Khmer Rouge.
Director: Angelina Jolie | Stars: Sareum Srey Moch, Phoeung Kompheak, Sveng Socheata, Mun Kimhak
Votes: 20,410
18. Ezra (I) (2007)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
Ezra is the first film to give an African perspective on the disturbing phenomenon of abducting child soldiers into the continent's recent civil wars. Ezra is structured around the ... See full summary »
Director: Newton I. Aduaka | Stars: Mamoudu Turay Kamara, Mariame N'Diaye, Mamusu Kallon, Richard Gant
Votes: 290
19. Blood Diamond (2006)
R | 143 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
A fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly, Kagiso Kuypers
Votes: 585,553 | Gross: $57.37M
20. The Silent Army (2008)
115 min | Drama, Thriller
Child soldiers in Africa are at the fore in this tale of a white restaurant owner in an African town bordering a conflict zone. When his son's African friend Abu is abducted, he sets out to... See full summary »
Director: Jean van de Velde | Stars: Marco Borsato, Abby Mukiibi Nkaaga, Thekla Reuten, Andrew Kintu
Votes: 1,217
21. Run Boy Run (2013)
Not Rated | 112 min | Action, Biography, Drama
8-year-old Srulik flees from the Warsaw ghetto in 1942 and attempts to survive, at first alone in the forest, and then on a farm as a Christian orphan named Jurek. Throughout his ordeal, he... See full summary »
Director: Pepe Danquart | Stars: Andrzej Tkacz, Kamil Tkacz, Elisabeth Duda, Itay Tiran
Votes: 2,819
22. A Bag of Marbles (2017)
Not Rated | 110 min | Biography, Drama, History
In occupied France, Maurice and Joseph, two young Jewish brothers left to their own devices demonstrate an incredible amount of cleverness, courage, and ingenuity to escape the enemy invasion and to try to reunite their family once again.
Director: Christian Duguay | Stars: Dorian Le Clech, Batyste Fleurial, Patrick Bruel, Elsa Zylberstein
Votes: 6,387 | Gross: $0.41M
23. Land of Mine (2015)
R | 100 min | Drama, History, War
In post-World War II Denmark, a group of young German POWs are forced to clear a beach of thousands of land mines under the watch of a Danish Sergeant who slowly learns to appreciate their plight.
Director: Martin Zandvliet | Stars: Roland Møller, Louis Hofmann, Joel Basman, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard
Votes: 45,717 | Gross: $0.44M
24. Pelle the Conqueror (1987)
PG-13 | 157 min | Drama
When his wife dies, Lasse takes his 12-year-old son, Pelle, from their home in Sweden to Denmark in search of a better life.
Director: Bille August | Stars: Pelle Hvenegaard, Max von Sydow, Erik Paaske, Björn Granath
Votes: 11,843 | Gross: $2.05M
25. Jojo Rabbit (2019)
PG-13 | 108 min | Comedy, Drama, War
A young German boy in the Hitler Youth whose hero and imaginary friend is the country's dictator is shocked to discover that his mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.
Director: Taika Waititi | Stars: Roman Griffin Davis, Thomasin McKenzie, Scarlett Johansson, Taika Waititi
Votes: 440,752 | Gross: $33.37M
26. The Windermere Children (2020)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama, War
This is the stark, moving, and ultimately redemptive story of the bonds these children make with one another, and of how the friendships forged at Windermere become a lifeline to a fruitful future.
Director: Michael Samuels | Stars: Thomas Kretschmann, Romola Garai, Iain Glen, Tim McInnerny
Votes: 3,654
27. The Drum (1938)
Not Rated | 104 min | Adventure, War
During the British Raj, Captain Carruthers works under cover to track smuggled shipments of arms on the restless Northwest Frontier of India. He fears a full-scale rebellion is brewing. To ... See full summary »
Director: Zoltan Korda | Stars: Sabu, Raymond Massey, Roger Livesey, Valerie Hobson
Votes: 937
28. A Boy Ten Feet Tall (1963)
G | 118 min | Adventure
Ten year old Sammy travels 4500 miles on his own from the Suez Canal to Durban, South Africa.
Director: Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Edward G. Robinson, Fergus McClelland, Constance Cummings, Harry H. Corbett
Votes: 648
29. Waiting for Anya (2020)
109 min | Drama, Thriller, War
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
Director: Ben Cookson | Stars: Noah Schnapp, Thomas Kretschmann, Frederick Schmidt, Tómas Lemarquis
Votes: 1,871
30. The Long Days of Summer (1980 TV Movie)
100 min | Drama
In 1939, Daniel, a young Jewish boy, and his attorney father, fight against prejudice in a New England town.
Director: Dan Curtis | Stars: Dean Jones, Joan Hackett, Ronnie Scribner, Louanne
Votes: 57
31. The Letter for the King (2020)
TV-PG | 292 min | Action, Adventure, Family
Tiuri, a teenage squire, answers a call for help that sends him on a perilous mission across the three kingdoms to deliver a secret letter to the King.
Stars: Amir Wilson, Ruby Ashbourne Serkis, Thaddea Graham, Islam Bouakkaz
Votes: 8,357
32. The Evacuees (1975 TV Movie)
75 min | Drama, War
The experiences of two young Jewish boys evacuated from Manchester to Blackpool during the Blitz.
Director: Alan Parker | Stars: Margery Withers, Ian East, Gary Carp, Aubrey Edwards
Votes: 148
33. The Little Traitor (2007)
TV-PG | 88 min | Drama
A coming of age tale of the unlikely bond between a kindly British soldier and a spirited Jewish boy set against the backdrop of the birth of the State of Israel.
Director: Lynn Roth | Stars: Ido Port, Alfred Molina, Gilya Stern, Rami Heuberger
Votes: 1,101 | Gross: $0.40M
34. Shepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog (2019)
93 min | Action, Family, Mystery
Kaleb, a beloved German Shepherd, is separated from his Jewish family when the Nuremberg Laws are enacted in WWII Berlin. He is adopted by an SS Officer who trains him to attack and round up Jews at a work camp.
Director: Lynn Roth | Stars: August Maturo, Ken Duken, Ayelet Zurer, Ádám Porogi
Votes: 374
35. Miracle at Moreaux (1985 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 58 min | Drama, History, War
It is 1943, and the students at a catholic boarding school decide to hide three Jewish children from the Nazis. To save the children, the members of the boarding school will have to find the courage to risk their own lives in the process.
Director: Paul Shapiro | Stars: Loretta Swit, Robert Joy, Ken Pogue, Robert Kosoy
Votes: 146
36. Yasuke (2021)
TV-MA | 30 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
He came from Africa and fought alongside a mighty feudal lord in brutal 16th century Japan. They called him the Black Samurai, and he became a legend.
Stars: LaKeith Stanfield, Maya Tanida, William Christopher Stephens, Darren Criss
Votes: 6,161
37. Mosby's Marauders (1967)
80 min | Action, Adventure, History
A young Private in the Confederate Army, Willie Prentiss, is assigned to guard a remote river outpost during the American Civil War. Lonely Willie becomes pals with his Union army ... See full summary »
Director: Michael O'Herlihy | Stars: James MacArthur, Nick Adams, Jack Ging, Kurt Russell
Votes: 118
38. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
PG-13 | 138 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
During the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Billy Boyd, James D'Arcy
Votes: 237,695 | Gross: $93.93M
39. Dune (2021)
PG-13 | 155 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A noble family becomes embroiled in a war for control over the galaxy's most valuable asset while its heir becomes troubled by visions of a dark future.
Director: Denis Villeneuve | Stars: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac
Votes: 849,081 | Gross: $108.33M
40. Soldier Boy (2019)
86 min | Drama, War
Based on a true story, these are the exciting events that occurred in the life of the smallest soldier - a hero of the Great Patriotic War, six-year-old Sergei Aleshkov. Sergei loses all of... See full summary »
Director: Viktoria Fanasiutina | Stars: Andrey Andreev, Viktor Dobronravov, Darya Ursulyak, Andrey Novik
Votes: 831
41. Reach for Glory (1962)
86 min | Drama, War
During World War II, in a small English coastal town, teenage boys eager to join the army but unable to do so participate in their own homemade private brutal war games with tragic results.
Director: Philip Leacock | Stars: Michael Anderson Jr., Oliver Grimm, Martin Tomlinson, Alexis Kanner
Votes: 194
42. Blood and Honor: Youth Under Hitler (1982– )
300 min | Drama
Follows a German boys involvement in the Hitler Youth during the pre WWII years.
Stars: Marlies Engel, Rolf Becker, Leslie Malton, Gila von Weitershausen
Votes: 129
43. Skyggen i mit øje (2021)
TV-MA | 107 min | Drama, History, War
The fates of several Copenhagen residents collide when a WWII bombing mission accidentally targets a school full of children.
Director: Ole Bornedal | Stars: Bertram Bisgaard Enevoldsen, Ester Birch, Ella Josephine Lund Nilsson, Malena Lucia Lodahl
Votes: 16,625
44. Venice (2010)
115 min | Drama
Marek is in his early teens and dreams of going to Venice. Although the war makes his plans highly unlikely, the boy won't let his dreams drift away too easily.
Director: Jan Jakub Kolski | Stars: Magdalena Cielecka, Marcin Walewski, Agnieszka Grochowska, Grazyna Blecka-Kolska
Votes: 528
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