While many war films have been made, there are not many that can be called truly anti-war—films that focus on the essentially tragic nature of most wars and the importance for all humanity of trying to avoid them. Such films can play an important role in promoting peace and disarmament.
Yet the more common tendency is for war films to be made from the perspective of the victor, often glorifying the victor’s war efforts. Within this narrow framework, some good films have been made from time to time. But the films that bring out the folly and tragedy of war—films I would prefer to call peace films rather than war films—remain relatively rare.
In Hindi cinema, Chetan Anand’s Haqeeqat and Bimal Roy’s Usne Kaha Tha can be called anti-war or peace films, but such examples are rare. This is true not only for Hindi cinema but also for world cinema. However, some exceptionally great neo-realist films were made in the aftermath of World War II that truly deserve the label. These films show how common people, families, lonely individuals, and especially children suffered.
Among these, the one that moved me most—making me cry time and again—is set in post-war Germany. Charlie Chaplin called it the most beautiful Italian film he had ever seen, yet it is also extremely tragic. Based on the life of a family in post-World War II Berlin, Germany Year Zero (1948) is not a film you can easily forget.
The war is over, but its devastation lives on in the lives of so many. One such person is a 12-year-old boy in Berlin named Edmund (played by Edmund Moeschke). If you have ever wondered how some child actors outperform even the most accomplished actors, you will wonder even more after seeing his outstanding performance. Some credit also goes to director Roberto Rossellini, but the child actor is simply brilliant. I will never forget several patches of brilliance—like when the child’s natural but subdued playfulness asserts itself even in his worst crisis: he tries desperately to join a small game of football, and failing that, tries to skip around playfully. As the tiny frame of a 12-year-old walks amid the ruins of a city badly battered by bombs, saddled with family responsibilities, he becomes an enduring symbol of war’s lingering devastation.
This film, which later won the Golden Leopard and Best Director Award at the Locarno International Film Festival, initially faced much unjustified criticism for documenting bitter truths people would rather forget. But it is precisely for reminding us of the terrible after-effects of war that this film is so valuable.
Another outstanding Italian neo-realist film in this context is The Path of Hope (1950), directed by Pietro Germi. During a lingering economic crisis, a mine in Sicily is being closed down, but the workers are determined to oppose it to protect their livelihoods. The film opens with workers protesting silently deep inside the mine, while women and children wait outside with great anxiety. The expressions on the faces of these men, women, and most particularly the children, are unforgettable.
The mines finally shut down. Then a labor contractor appears, promising jobs in France in return for advance payments. Much about him is suspicious, but in their desperation, many workers and their families agree to go. Thus The Journey of Hope begins.
After all their trials and tribulations, the exhausted travelers are confronted by French border guards. Is this the end? Will they get nowhere? As the migrant workers wait with bated breath for the guards’ decision, fearing the worst, the head guard looks around and suddenly catches the eyes of a small child sitting on a migrant’s lap. The first signs of kindness appear on the guard’s face. The child recognizes this not-so-obvious look of kindness and smiles back. Oh, that smile! Who can ever forget it? The guard smiles back.
The Path of Hope received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1951 and the Silver Bear at the 1st Berlin International Film Festival. Federico Fellini was closely involved in writing the script, based on a novel by Nino Di Maria. This film was also shown in the Classic Section at Cannes in 2021.
Some early films of Vittorio De Sica must also be mentioned. Bicycle Thieves (1948) is an all-time classic, with an enduring impact on neo-realist filmmakers around the world, including India. Unemployment in post-war Italy is rampant. A desperate unemployed man considers himself extremely lucky to find a job pasting posters, but to keep the job he needs his bicycle—which had been pawned to meet essential family needs. His wife manages to sell household goods to get the bicycle back, but it is stolen soon after. This film vividly brings out the difficult choices forced on impoverished people, as well as the moral crises and emotional breakdowns that follow in post-war situations. Here too, some of the most lasting memories are of the child actor.
What Bicycle Thieves captures in the context of an unemployed young man, Umberto D (1952) shows with equal brilliance in the context of an elderly man desperate to retain his rented accommodation—or else be on the street—but without the means to do so. Some critics regard this as De Sica’s best film, even better than the more famous Bicycle Thieves.
It would be good to revive and circulate these films more widely in these difficult times, when the danger of war is increasing. In addition, there is a strong case for increasing efforts to make more anti-war films and peace films related to more recent and present-day contexts.
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The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Planet in Peril and Man over Machine. His website is bharatdogra.in
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