20 emotional movies about historical trauma

World War I was, without a doubt, one of the most traumatic events in modern European history, leaving a scar on the land and on the psyches of the young men who fought in it. The film All Quiet on the Western Front, the 2022 adaptation of the novel Erich Maria Remarque, is a brilliant and haunting evocation of this pivotal event. Even more than most other film versions of the story, it develops the theme of how pointless and destructive war is and how much of a mark it leaves on the soldiers caught up in its relentless gears. 

Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell are perfectly cast in The Banshees of Inisherin, which focuses on two friends whose estrangement has tragic consequences. Though it is not always explicit, the film is very much a metaphor for the Irish Civil War, one of the most traumatic events in the history of the Emerald Isle. In that sense, the dissolution of the friendship between Farrell’s Pádraic Súilleabháin and Gleeson’s Colm Doherty is all the more heartbreaking and emotionally resonant. In its expert blending of the tragic and the comedic, it helps illuminate the way trauma can sometimes be almost impossible to truly overcome. 

Idi Amin was one of the most ruthless dictators of the 20th Century, inflicting significant horror and trauma on the nation of Uganda. The Last King of Scotland  focuses on James McAvoy’s Dr. Nicholas Garrigan, who goes to Uganda, where he slowly but surely becomes enmeshed in Amin’s life, bearing witness to his cruelty, megalomania, and tyranny. Forest Whitaker gives an almost uncannily compelling performance as Amin, managing to capture the dictator’s characteristics to a remarkable degree. Though not for the faint of heart, The Last King of Scotland demonstrates how a dictator’s whims can not only destroy an individual life but a nation’s. 

Flee is one of the most wrenching and beautiful films to have emerged from 2021, focusing on an Afghan refugee and his attempts to find safety for himself and his family in Europe while trying to find happiness with his partner, Kasper. Conveyed mainly through interviews and animated segments, it’s one of those films that truly demonstrates the agony of being a stateless person, always trying to find a home. It also demonstrates the power of animation as a form of filmmaking. While it doesn’t shy away from the darkness, it is also a film that shows the indomitable hope of the human spirit. 

Flags of Our Fathers remains one of Clint Eastwood’s best films. Focusing on the events leading up to the raising of the flag at Iwo Jima and the mythologizing of said event, the film is a fascinating and complex look at how the past is often refigured and changed by those who want to use it for their purposes. It is also a fascinating look at the nature of heroism, and the film’s true brilliance lies in its willingness to challenge received truths about the War, even as it also makes clear just how brave the men were who fought in it. 

Steven Spielberg truly knocked it out of the park with Saving Private Ryan. The opening scene remains one of the most astounding technical achievements in the history of movies. His film ably captures the brutal and viscerally terrifying nature of combat, and few films have conveyed the experience of D-Day as effectively. As so often with Spielberg, there is also a proud human heart and story at the heart of this film, and the final scene, in particular, demonstrates the extent to which World War II left a lasting impression on the minds, hearts, and bodies of those who fought in it. 

The Rwandan genocide was one of the most horrifying events of the 1990s, and it left a profound scar on the country and international psyche. Hotel Rwanda features a truly remarkable and intense performance from Don Cheadle, who plays Paul Rusesabagina, a hotelier who, along with his wife, worked tirelessly to save refugees. Despite the barbarism, which is always a key part of the film’s world, Hotel Rwanda demonstrates the extent to which it is still possible to hold onto one’s humanity even when the world as a whole seems to be falling into the seething pit of barbarism and violence.

The Holocaust was an event so horrifying and so vast in scale that it is almost impossible for it to ever be fully rendered explicable through film. Even so, Night and Fog remains one of the most powerful, haunting, and deeply evocative looks at the horrors of the Holocaust ever put to film. It’s a film whose relevance has only grown more acute with the passing years, and the ongoing rise of anti-Semitism both in the US and abroad indicates that there is a continuing need to ensure that the Holocaust and its aftermath are not forgotten in the present.

Of course, since their love affair takes place against the backdrop of the 1950s, when it was still illegal to commit homosexual acts in places like the United Kingdom. It focuses on the illicit affair between policeman Tom Burgess and museum Patrick Hazlewood, all while Tom’s wife Marion is caught in the middle. Patrick’s imprisonment leaves a scar on both him and the other two, mainly because Marion was responsible for turning him in. The film is a wrenching and evocative look at the power of institutionalized homophobia to destroy lives and loves, leaving a trail of emotional devastation in its wake. 

The assassination of JFK sent shockwaves through every aspect of American society and culture, and it had a particularly profound impact on his widow, Jackie. The film, which bears her name, includes one of Natalie Portman’s best performances of her career, and it focuses on her life as she grapples with the aftermath of her husband’s assassination. Portman makes Jackie into a fully flesh-and-blood human being, and she ably captures the extent of the First Lady’s sorrow and guilt, even as it also reflects on the nature of memory and how a person like Jackie O. becomes enshrined in popular memory.

Ryan Murphy’s The Normal Heart, based on the Larry Kramer play of the same name, features a powerful and intense performance from Mark Ruffalo as Ned Weeks, a NYC writer who watches in horror as the AIDS epidemic begins scything its way through the gay community. As the film goes on, Weeks becomes more and more enraged at the willingness of many in power to address the ongoing crisis, and as such, the film is a timely reminder of the ways that those who exist at the margins of society are often disregarded and ignored by those who should be trying to protect them. The film is a testament to the power of film to convey the trauma of the past.

The AIDS crisis was one of the most traumatic events of the 1980s, particularly for members of the LGBTQ+ community, who were disproportionately affected by the disease and the government’s unwillingness to address it head-on. Many films have addressed this particularly horrifying public health crisis, but few with as much emotional impact and depth as the documentary We Were Here. Featuring interviews with those who were there and played a role in mitigating the disease’s effects, this film is a testament to the enduring power and tenacity of the LGBTQ+ community and their ability to survive against almost insurmountable odds.

Few American presidents are as beloved and celebrated as Abraham Lincoln, portrayed in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln by Daniel Day-Lewis. There’s something almost melancholic about this film, focusing on the last few months of his life before John Wilkes Booth took his life with a bullet. It’s almost as if Lincoln can sense his own finitude, which is why he worked so hard to get the Thirteenth Amendment passed. It’s one of those films that manages to be rich and deep, immersing the viewer in the turbulent world of the late days of the Civil War, and though it ends with the president’s death, it suggests that hope shall spring anew. 

Steven Spielberg has long had an interest in some of the key moments of history, and in Amistad, he turned his attention to one of the pivotal events in the history of pre-Civil War America. Focusing on a group of enslaved Africans who attempt to win their freedom through the US court system, it’s peak Spielberg, filled with rousing speeches, strong performances, and a sentimental look at the past. Moreover, it’s a compelling and thoughtful look at the evils of slavery and the extent to which some in the US worked to mitigate its toxic and terrible influence on those caught in its clutches. 

The title of The Birth of a Nation is evocative for many reasons, not the least of which is its reference to D.W. Griffith’s monument to racism and the Klan, The Birth of a Nation. However, the focus is on the slave rebellion led by Nat Turner, played here by Nate Parker (who also wrote the screenplay and directed the film). There’s a searing intensity to this film that is impossible to look away from, even though the viewer can’t help but be aware that Turner’s rebellion is doomed to failure. This is precisely what gives the film its extraordinary power, and it is a testament to the desire of human beings to be free. 

Princess Diana is arguably the most tragic of royal figures for, having endured an unhappy marriage to Prince Charles, her life was cut brutally and abruptly short due to a car accident. The film Spencer  gives Kristen Stewart her chance to shine as the doomed Diana, and the film follows her as she endures a dreadful Christmas at Sandringham. The film is a haunting Gothic story of Diana’s attempts to grapple with her life and what she wants for herself and her children. Stewart’s performance as Diana comes closer to bringing the doomed royal to life than almost anyone else has ever been able to accomplish. 

Given the fact that slavery is, in many ways, America’s original sin, it makes sense that it would become a recurring motif in the cinema. 12 Years a Slave, directed by Steve McQueen, details the life of Solomon Northup, a free African-American man kidnapped and sold into slavery. Chiwetel Ejiofor is nothing short of a revelation as Northup, and the film is necessary viewing for those who want to get a sense of the utter brutality of slavery and its toxic influence on the human spirit. It’s one of those films that feels like a revelation precisely because it forces a confrontation with slavery rather than allowing the audience to look away.  

The murder of Emmett Till was and is one of the great stains on the national American consciousness. While it catalyzes the action of the bracing, haunting, and beautiful film Till, much of the movie’s action focuses on Emmett’s mother, Mamie, and her determined and brave efforts to get justice for her son despite the pervasive racism of the American South. Danielle Deadwyler gives one of the most haunting and intense performances of her career, and there are numerous times in the film where one can almost feel her anger, rage, and righteous determination to force a reckoning with racist violence. 

The 1990s proved to be a particularly fruitful and rewarding decade for Steven Spielberg, who released some of his career's most heartbreaking and beautiful works. In Schindler’s List, he turned his attention to the Holocaust, and the film remains one of the most profoundly moving films ever made. It is one of those films that shows humanity at its best and worst. While it doesn’t shy away from showing the full horror of the Holocaust, it also shows the extent to which people can survive, even when the apparatus of the state is turned against them. 

Martin Scorsese brings his undeniable directing skills to bear in Killers of the Flower Moon, based on David Grann’s book. It focuses, in particular, on the murder of several members of the Osage after oil is discovered on their lands. It is an epic in every sense of the word, and this gives its central story about the genocide of Indigenous people an extra potency. It’s the type of film that tears away the myths and legends Americans like to tell themselves about their supremacy, revealing the darkness, terror, and horror that lurks beneath. It showcases the power of cinema to highlight the trauma of history.