10 War Films Where Everyone Survives

Lincoln might not be a traditional war movie on the surface but the entire film's narrative is sparked and defined by the Civil War, cementing it as a war film without an on screen death.

Director Steven Spielberg focuses on the aftermath of violence whenever going outside of legislative offices, landscapes altered by death and destruction, Black men cursed by the existence of slavery and the racism prevalent in both the Union and Confederacy. Even Lincoln's death isn't directly shown and is all about the effect it leaves on everyone around him.

While the film has definitely received valid criticism over its exceptionalist portrayal of American history, erasing elements of truth to further sell the image of Abraham Lincoln as a moral authority, Spielberg does use his skill and nuance as a filmmaker to partially examine the dichotomy of a man wishing to free slaves so he can then send them to die in the war against the south.

Thankfully, Daniel Day Lewis’ incredible performance ensures that the film won’t go down in history as just a tribute, but a complicated enthralling portrait of one of history’s most famous men.