If everything is not OK in the end, then it’s not the end. In films, perhaps this is true, but it might need some rethink. For instance, war movies. They cast a strange spell. For everything need not be happily-ever-after in a war movie. There’s love and separation, patriotism and betrayal, propaganda and schemes, and bombs and brains, all wrapped into one in two hours. Indian films, such as Haqeeqat, Border and Lakshya, were amazing films. But the ending was pretty much known to all. So I browsed through some foreign war movies to discover the cinematic differential of the theme called war.

The Pianist: Polish director Roman Polanski took the autobiography of Wladyslaw Szpilman by the same name and made the film with actor Adrien Brody in the lead role. He selected Brody out of 1,400 actors who came for audition. The film is about Szpilman, a famous Polish Jewish pianist, working with Warsaw Radio, who is forced to leave his home and become a slave of the invading German army during World War II. Unlike other WW II movies this is not only about German extremism. Polanski depicted the survival of the pianist in the ghetto in a way that makes one feel grateful for living in a free world.

The Guns of Navarone: One of the greatest war movies ever made, the film stars legendry actor Gregory Peck, and is directed by J Lee Thompson. Based on a novel by Alistair MacLean, the film is about 2,000 British soldiers trapped in the Greek islands. Two powerful German guns and the mountainous terrain make the rescue mission perilous for the Allied forces. The British finally call in Keith Mallory, a commando officer also an expert mountaineer, to ferry a team of British commandos to the only area of Navarone that is not monitored by the Germans. The high drama is a must-watch as traitors in Mallory’s team leak vital information, while a dangerous mission is executed.

A Bridge Too Far: Directed by legendry Richard Attenborough, it is a star-studded film, with actors such as Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery, Gene Hackman and Robert Redford. Near the end of the World War II, the Allied forces attempt to capture three bridges behind enemy lines. The most important spot is the bridge of Arnhem; once captured, it can block everything west of Germany. US Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery engineers operation Market Garden to capture the bridges. The film shows the elaborate military planning and beautiful sceneries of the place for the final showdown. US troops are dropped behind enemy lines. However, if anything can go wrong it will definitely go wrong. And it did. The Allied forces face terrible delays in getting back up due to inclement weather. They hold their positions with whatever they have. And like all military plans, operation Market Garden becomes a historic failure.