MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for Saving Bella

Saving Bella

2026 · 103 min

A quietly devastating wartime story where small acts of kindness amid starvation become a lifeline.

Directed by
Anton Bogdanov
Genres
War, History, Drama
Starring
Slava Kopeykin, Yulia Peresild, Stasya Miloslavskaya
Overview
December 1941. Leningrad. A soldier is assigned to guard the city zoo in the midst of World War II. There, among starving workers and dying animals, he forms an unexpected bond with Bella the hippo. As the siege tightens, this fragile connection becomes his only anchor, forcing him to choose between survival and compassion in a world falling apart.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Add to a list: Saving Bella

You have no lists yet. Name one, and this title goes into it.

All your lists

In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Anton Bogdanov
Genres
War, History, Drama
Starring
Slava Kopeykin, Yulia Peresild, Stasya Miloslavskaya
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • survival
  • war
  • isolation
  • grief
  • healing
Places
  • military
Era
period
Audience
teen
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence strong
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror2
Humour1
Realism7
Romance1
Tension7
Darkness8
Complexity5
Emotional weight8

More like this

Titles like Saving Bella

Movie

Leningrad

2009

A grim, earnest wartime survival story that immerses you in cold, hungry desperation and fragile human connection.

Same composer: Yuriy Poteenko · Bleak, melancholic · about survival and war

Also
Same composer: Yuriy Poteenko
Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • survival
  • war
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
120 min
Details
LeningradHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Truce

2025

A grim, slow-burning struggle for survival, where endurance and fractured trust carry the weight of history.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about survival and war

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • survival
  • war
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
150 min
Details
The TruceHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Land of Mine

2015

A harrowing, tense experience that immerses you in constant dread and deep sadness, with moments of fragile humanity.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about survival and war

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • survival
  • war
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
100 min
Details
Land of MineHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

War Horse

2011

A sweeping, heartfelt journey through wartime suffering and small kindnesses, with grand visuals and a sentimental pull that lingers.

Melancholic, tense · about survival and war

Via
  • melancholic
  • tense
  • survival
  • war
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
146 min
Details
War HorseHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Natural Light

2021

A slow, immersive plunge into wartime dread, seen through a quiet man's eyes as control slips away.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about survival and war

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • survival
  • war
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
103 min
Details
Natural LightHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer

1961

A grueling, soul-crushing journey through war-torn landscapes that tests the limits of human endurance and idealism.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about survival and war

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • survival
  • war
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
190 min
Details
The Human Condition III: A Soldier's PrayerHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Fate of a Man

1959

A harrowing yet tender journey through profound loss, anchored by quiet resilience and a glimmer of hope.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about survival and war

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • survival
  • war
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
103 min
Details
Fate of a ManHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Rifleman

2019

A somber, immersive war drama that follows a young soldier's brutal loss of innocence amid muddy trenches and shifting loyalties.

Bleak, melancholic · about survival and war

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • survival
  • war
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
124 min
Details
The RiflemanHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Last Frontier

2020

A grim, earnest war drama that immerses you in the desperate, sacrificial stand of young soldiers, leaving a heavy emotional toll.

Same composer: Yuriy Poteenko · Bleak, melancholic · about survival and war

Also
Same composer: Yuriy Poteenko
Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • survival
  • war
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
130 min
Details
The Last FrontierHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

De Gaulle: Résistance

2026

A tense, weighty historical drama that immerses you in the desperate resolve of one man against the collapse of his nation.

Tense, earnest · about survival and war

Via
  • tense
  • earnest
  • survival
  • war
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
160 min
Details
De Gaulle: RésistanceHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Pilot: A Battle for Survival

2021

A grueling, tense survival ordeal that immerses you in cold, hunger, and danger, with a heavy emotional weight.

Bleak, tense · about survival and war

Via
  • bleak
  • tense
  • survival
  • war
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
105 min
Details
The Pilot: A Battle for SurvivalHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

They Fought for Their Motherland

1975

A long, sombre, sweeping war epic that lingers on exhausted men, burnt fields and small human moments between battles.

Bleak, melancholic, slow-burn · about survival and war

Via
  • bleak
  • melancholic
  • survival
  • war
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
151 min
Details
They Fought for Their MotherlandHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres
war, history, drama
Directed by
Anton Bogdanov
Written by
Dmitry Pinchukov, Artem Mikhaylov, Alexandra Ilyina, Anton Bogdanov
Starring
Slava Kopeykin, Yulia Peresild, Stasya Miloslavskaya, Viktor Sukhorukov, Ivan Dobronravov, Svetlana Nemolyaeva, Boris Shcherbakov, Vladimir Afanasyev
Music
Yuriy Poteenko
Cinematography
Mikhail Milashin
Runtime
103 min
Country
Russia
Languages
Russian

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata

Something wrong on this page? Tell us.