Films about the Post-Cold War Period
This collection provides information on selected movies, TV productions and documentaries on the themes of gender, military and war in the period covered by the Oxford Handbook.
The most important wars for this period include:
- Wars in former Yugoslavia (1991– 99)
- U.S. Wars in the Middle East (1990–91ff)
- Wars of Globalization
- UN Peacekeeping / New Humanitarianism
This short documentary, made for UNICEF and UNFPA, gives voice to the young women and girls in Liberia. They talk about their hopes and dreams and implore viewers to protect and promote women's rights.
Two lovers are divided by the Bosnian War. Danijel, a Serbian soldier, recognizes Ajla, his former lover and a Muslim, in a POW camp. They both betray each other to serve their ethnic and religious rather than personal interests.
Based on the memoirs of Lt. Cpl. Anthony Swofford, Jarhead reveals the monotony of war as experienced by U.S. Marines in the Gulf War. From basic training to Iraq, Swofford and his peers perpetually train for war. Their boredom and...
A young man and his group of friends are transformed by the Yugoslav Wars. After returning from combat, Pedja feels lost among his friends and hometown of Belgrade. He finally connects with a young woman who also experienced the terror of war. ...
This Oscar-nominated Best Foreign Language Film explores the moral disintegration of society after the Yugoslav Wars. A man considers assassinating a warlord for money to pay for his child's life-saving surgery.
Three years filming in ten different countries have been required to make War Against Women the most ambitious documentary ever filmed about the use of rape as a weapon of war. A quieted and ignored topic up to date, which makes victims...
In a Kurdish refugee camp on the eve of the War in Iraq, a boy's ambitions and joys contrast sharply with the horrors around him. A young boy's adventures in scavenging is better than some work in clearing land mines, leaving some disfigured and...
Two childhood friend find themselves on opposite sides during the Bosnian War. Loosely based on real events, Halil and his fellow Muslim soldiers have trapped Serbs, including his old friend Milan, within the Tunnel of Brotherhood and Unity. As...
In this visually arresting documentary, director Fernando E. Solanas weaves together the threads of globalization, neoliberalism, and political corruption to explain the decaying social, economic, and political fabric of Argentina in the late...
This Oscar-nominated documentary from director Laura Poitras explores the politics and everyday life of occupied Iraq. Its focus on Dr. Riyadh al-Adhadh, a Sunni who runs for office during the 2005 elections while tending to patients, reveals the...
A critical examination of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq based on interviews with former Bush II administration officials, ambassadors, journalists, soldiers, civilians, and analysts. Interviewees highlight U.S. policy decisions such as...
This Oscar-winning Best Foreign Language Film explores senseless death and fruitless peace in the Bosnian War. Two injured soldiers, a Bosnian and a Serbian, are stranded in no man's land and are trapped by a landmine. A French soldier for the...
An award-winning short documentary film from the anonymous Abounddara Collective, Of God and Dogs reveals the internal conflicts of soldiers in the Syrian Civil War to challenge dominate narratives about it. A soldier in opposition to...
At the end of the twentieth century People's Century looks back at the story of our times. This twenty-six part PBS television series offers new insight into the turbulent events of these hundred years through the revealing personal...
This Oscar-nominated film weaves together three love stories to reveal the interconnectedness of modern Europe during the Macedonia conflict in the Yugoslav Wars. A young monk named Kiril becomes involved with Zamira, an Albanian girl accused of...
Two young boys come of age during the wars in former Yugoslavia. Pinki and Švaba escape the war, their parents' ethnic hatred, and international sanctions by joining Belgrade's underground scene. The gangster life of drugs, sex, and murder leads...
Inspired by real life events, Remake connects the experiences of the Bosnian War and World War II through a father and son. Tarik wins acclaim in Paris for his screenplay about his father's war experience in a concentration camp and ...
This court-martial drama highlights loyalty and use of warfare in American engagement in Vietnam and later in the Middle East. Hayes Hodges finds his career aspirations dashed when he's wounded in Vietnam. He returns to America and becomes a...
A short instructional video that explains the basics of international humanitarian law. It focuses on war crimes such as attacking civilians, prisoners, and the wounded.
A make-shift family develops in this allegorical tale of postwar Bosnia. After returning home from prison, Lazar finds a Bosnian Serb mother and her autistic daughter living in his former apartment. Rather than turning them out, Lazar seeks...