Movies Similar to Explosion Before Dawn

Carla's Song(1996)

A Glasgow man visits war-torn Nicaragua with a refugee tormented by her memories.

Salvador(1986)

In 1980, an American journalist covering the Salvadoran Civil War becomes entangled with both the leftist guerrilla groups and the right-wing military dictatorship while trying to rescue his girlfriend and her children.

Shanghai Express(1932)

A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey.

Moffie(2020)

A young man in 1981 South Africa must complete his brutal and racist two years of compulsory military service while desperately maintaining the secrecy of his homosexuality.

The Final Countdown(1980)

During routine manoeuvres near Hawaii in 1980, the aircraft-carrier USS Nimitz is caught in a strange vortex-like storm, throwing the ship back in time to 1941—mere hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Innocent Voices(2005)

A young boy, attempting to have a normal childhood in 1980s El Salvador, is caught up in a dramatic fight for his life when he desperately tries to avoid the war that is raging all around him.

To Live(1994)

Married couple Fugui and Jiazhen endure tumultuous events in mid-20th century mainland China as their personal fortunes move from wealthy landownership to peasantry.

Buffalo Soldiers(2002)

A criminal subculture operates among U.S. soldiers stationed in West Germany just before the fall of the Berlin wall.

沙家店粮站(1954)

Jue Sha(1993)

Putin(2025)

A portrait of a formidable political figure, unraveling the contrasting facets of an iron-fisted tyrant and a man haunted by fear.

Under the Shadow(2016)

After Shideh's building is hit by a missile during the Iran-Iraq War, a superstitious neighbor suggests that the missile was cursed and might be carrying malevolent Middle-Eastern spirits. She becomes convinced a supernatural force within the building is attempting to possess her daughter Dorsa, and she has no choice but to confront these forces if she is to save her daughter and herself.

The Turning of Wheels(1975)

Captain Miller(2024)

In the 1930s, during the British Raj, Analeesan "Eesa", a former soldier of the British Indian Army called Captain Miller, is on a mission to protect the people from the British after witnessing an atrocity.

Reykjavik

At the most dangerous point of the Cold War, political enemies Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Iceland over one long, tense weekend to decide if there will be peace or war. They sit across from each other, choosing to unclench their fists and instead extend their hands — a triumph of overcoming fear, differences, egos, and consequences.

Secret Order Intercept(1986)

Set in the anti-Japanese war, a Japanese commander who killed a lot of Chinese receives an order to return to Japan. Scouts from the eighth route army must intercept the executioner before he leaves China.

Ten Thousand Li Ahead(1941)

Driver Ko Wah (Lee Ching) refuses to transport ammunitions for the enemy, and is sent to jail after a scuffle with his traitorous boss. Although down and out, Ko takes in Siu-fung (Yung Siu-yi), an unwilling erotic dancer who has fled the war to Hong Kong. They may lead destitute lives, but their conscience remains intact. Director Cai Chusheng co-founded the National Salvation Association of Cinema. When Ko makes a uproar at the dance parlour and rips apart his friend's zombie costume, it represents Cai's criticism on the muddling-along attitude of Hong Kong society at the time. The characters' decision to return to the mainland to join the resistance effort also foretells Cai's decision to do the same in real-life.

Black Mass(2015)

The true story of Whitey Bulger, the brother of a state senator and the most infamous violent criminal in the history of South Boston, who became an FBI informant to take down a Mafia family invading his turf.

Live and Become(2005)

In 1980, the black Falashas in Ethiopia are recognised as genuine Jews and are secretly carried to Israel. The day before the transport the son of a Jewish mother dies. In his place and with his name (Schlomo) she takes a Christian 9-year-old boy.

We Own the Night(2007)

A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.