Studying WWII with movies

From our study of World War II, we have three movies to recommend:

"Saints and Soldiers" is PG-13 because it contains a fair amount of violence. Based upon the actual events of the Malmedy Massacre, five Allied soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines and are desperately trying to get intelligence information delivered. Beautiful cinematography--especially when you learn that this was an independent film (made with 1/140th of the budget of "Saving Private Ryan" by using World War II re-enactors who volunteered to be extras and equipment/props from private military collections). It's not always easy to tell who are the "saints" and who are the "soldiers." War is ugly in its realities, and there are "good guys" on both sides. Especially compelling is the character nicknamed "Deacon" for his Bible reading and hope of heaven. If the true measure of love is "to lay down one's life for one's friends," than this movie is very Christian in content and authentically catholic (with a little c). Filmed in 2004 and only 90 min. in length.

"In Love and War" (Hallmark version) is more of a love story with the War as a backdrop. My daughter loved it, while my son didn't even want to watch it to the end. Some romance, some comedy as an injured British soldier has trouble after his escape from a POW camp because of a foot injury. With the help of the local villagers, he hides from the Nazis, learns some Italian, and falls in love.

"The Miracle at Moreaux" The nuns running a French boarding school try to protect the children from the politics and racism of the War. Superb story line as the children must come to grips with their own stereotypes and bigotry when confronted with Jewish children under the threat of Nazi genocide. Additional benefit is the Christmas scene at the end. A nice story for families who want to get a glimpse of soldiers and Holocaust sufferers without PG-13 violence.