As an actress, Angelina Jolie is known for a variety of action movie performances like Mr and Mrs Smith to fantastic films like Maleficent. Jolie’s films of the 2000s include the iconic Lara Croft, although many of her best performances date back to the 90s through the 2010s. Like many actors in recent times, Jolie is a triple threat – one who can act, produce and direct feature films.
While Jolie has only had a handful of films with her as director, the themes of the films cover the subject of social awareness at the forefront. His first directed film was a documentary about orphanages and refugee camps with the aim of raising awareness and encouraging cultural understanding. The film, A place in timepremiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. From there, she made a war love film titled In the land of blood and honey. In 2014, Jolie produced her best-known work, Uninterrupted, another war movie based on true events. In 2015, she directed and starred alongside ex-husband Brad Pitt in By the sea. His last film made, First they killed my fatherdebuted in 2017 and is another wartime biopic.
It’s been a few years since Jolie has directed a movie, but she has an upcoming project that will showcase her directorial skills, involving her Eternals co-star Selma Hayek, called without blood. According to Variety, the film is being produced in partnership with Fremantle, with whom she signed a three-year international filmmaking deal in March 2022. According to The Hollywood Reporter, without blood will also star Demián Bichir and will be based on the novel of the same name by author Alessandro Baricco. Still in the early stages of development, fans have quite a bit of time before its release. In the meantime, here are the movies Jolie has directed, ranked.
4 In the land of blood and honey
The 2011 movie In the land of blood and honey is a war romance film set during the Bosnian War and follows Danijel, a Serbian soldier, and Ajla, a Bosnian captive. The two had briefly met before the war at a nightclub, but when they are reconnected as a captor and captured, can their newly rekindled love make it? More importantly, can they trust each other?
While the story for this film was directed, written, and produced by Jolie, viewers found that the film fell short of expectations, citing that the film failed to engage the viewer. Although the battle scenes were realistic and not overly exaggerated, viewers found the bond between the lovers and the war that enveloped them unimpressive. It seems that Jolie learned a lesson from this film and was able to correct these issues in her subsequent films.
3 By the sea
By the sea is one of the new non-war related films that Jolie is directing. In the film, Jolie is not only the director, but she also plays one of the main characters, is the sole screenwriter, and is listed as the producer. The film reunites Pitt and Jolie for the third time – the first in a film directed by Jolie.
The story follows a romantic-era 1970s couple, their failed marriage, and the fallout during a hotel stay in France. Pitt plays the husband who struggles to write his next job and Jolie the tired wife who becomes obsessed with the woman in the next room. Critics have praised Jolie’s portrayal of marriage, especially after 14 years, but say her writing ability caused the film to fall short of its full potential.
2 First they killed my father
pretty step
First they killed my father is a war biopic based on the life and experiences of Cambodian author and human rights activist Loung Ung. In the 2017 film, Ung recounts her life under the murderous Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. The Khmer Rouge invade Cambodia and turn young Loung’s life upside down, forcing her family to leave a comfortable life for a life in a labor camp. . To make matters worse, her father, a former officer, is killed, forcing the already struggling family to split apart in order to survive.
Jolie worked alongside Loung Ung to develop the script for this Netflix biopic. The duo used material already written by Ung from his novel of the same name. The film received a BAFTA Film Award nomination in the Best Non-English Film category. Critics praised the film and its ability to show the horrors of the Cambodian genocide told through the eyes of children.
1 Uninterrupted
In arguably one of Jolie’s best-known films, Uninterrupted covers the true story of Louis Zamperini. Zamperini was an Olympian turned soldier in World War II who survived 47 days in a raft after his plane crashed, only to be captured by the Japanese military. The film covers Zamperini’s young life through his time at the 1936 Olympics and the second half of his life, which was full of torment and torture in a Japanese POW camp.
The 2014 film was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Motion Picture Achievement. It’s a moving story that shows the resilience and unbroken spirit of Zamperini. Jack O’Connell performed Zamperini and was nominated for a few awards for his performance. The film was adapted from the novel written by Laura Hillebrand. While Jolie couldn’t fit everything into the novel, critics praised her for staying as true to events as possible.
