Skip to main content
Documentary backdrop image for Barbed Wire and Mandolins (1997)
48 minPGdocumentary
7.0/ 10(1 rating)• TMDB
Watch later

Synopsis

Upon Canada's entry into World War II, 700 Italian-Canadians were interned for up to three years without ever being charged with a crime.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Unwanted Soldiers (2025)
49m

Unwanted Soldiers

2025•49m•★8.0TMDB

Jari Osborne reflects on her father's experiences as a Chinese-Canadian veteran in World War II, highlighting the discrimination faced by British Columbia's Chinese-Canadian community.

Unwanted Soldiers
2025
Open Secrets (2022)
52m

Open Secrets

2022•52m•★6.7TMDB

Homosexual behaviour among Canadian soldiers during and after World War II led to military tribunals and public exposure, as revealed by veterans in José Torrealba's documentary.

Open Secrets
2022
First Stripes (2023)
1h47m

First Stripes

2023•1h47m•★6.0TMDB

A group of civilians undergoes 12 weeks of rigorous training to become soldiers in the Canadian Armed Forces, directed by Jean-François Caissy.

First Stripes
2023
The Enemy Within (2023)
52m

The Enemy Within

2023•52m

More than 38,000 German soldiers were held in prisoner of war camps across Canada during World War II, including Theo Melzer in Lethbridge, Alberta.

The Enemy Within
2023
Canadian Soldiers Fight Against German Forces (2025)
47m

Canadian Soldiers Fight Against German Forces

2025•47m

Canadian soldiers bravely fight German forces during the Italian Campaign in World War II.

Canadian Soldiers Fight Against German Forces
2025
How The Canadians Fought The Germans Out Of Italy In WWII (2023)
45m

How The Canadians Fought The Germans Out Of Italy In WWII

2023•45m

Canadian tankers of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps played a crucial role in liberating Italy from Nazi occupation during World War II.

How The Canadians Fought The Germans Out Of Italy In WWII
2023
Shameless Propaganda (2020)
1h12m

Shameless Propaganda

2020•1h12m•★1.0TMDB

The National Film Board of Canada produced over 500 films during World War II, aiming to shape national identity and values through wartime propaganda.

Shameless Propaganda
2020
Forgotten Warriors (2020)
51m

Forgotten Warriors

2020•51m

Thousands of Indigenous Canadians enlisted in World War II, despite being told by the government that they had no business fighting in the conflict.

Forgotten Warriors
2020
A Return to Memory (2024)
1h58m

A Return to Memory

2024•1h58m

During World War II, the mobilized hundreds of women who played a crucial role in shaping Canadian cinema.

A Return to Memory
2024
Inside the Urban Fight for Liberation (2025)
3h37m

Inside the Urban Fight for Liberation

2025•3h37m

Canada's path to liberation during World War II is explored through urban combat experiences in Groningen and Monte Cassino, highlighting the First Special Service Force's sacrifices.

Inside the Urban Fight for Liberation
2025

Explore Barbed Wire and Mandolins

PeopleFAQStream

Where else to watch

Continuous Journey (2004)
Worth a watch
1h27m

Continuous Journey

2004•1h27m•★10.0TMDB

The Continuous Journey Regulation of 1908 effectively barred South Asians from immigrating to Canada, culminating in the infamous Komagata Maru incident of 1914.

Continuous Journey
2004
Escape To Canada (2005)
1h20m

Escape To Canada

2005•1h20m•★5.4TMDB

In the summer of 2003, Canada legalized same-sex marriage and relaxed marijuana laws, attracting American soldiers and couples seeking refuge from U.S. policies.

Escape To Canada
2005
Rosies of the North (1999)
47m

Rosies of the North

1999•47m•★7.0TMDB

3,000 women worked on the shop floor at the Canadian Car and Foundry in Fort William, Ontario, building over 1,400 Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft during World War II.

Rosies of the North
1999
That Never Happened: Canada's First National Internment Operations (2018)
1h18m

That Never Happened: Canada's First National Internment Operations

2018•1h18m

Thousands of Ukrainian and Eastern Europeans were interned in Canadian camps during the First World War, a largely overlooked chapter in the nation's history.

That Never Happened: Canada's First National Internment Operations
2018
The Fence (2020)
1h18m

The Fence

2020•1h18m

Two thousand Canadians endured four years of imprisonment in Japanese POW camps during World War II, the longest incarceration of its kind.

The Fence
2020

Browse more like this

The Crucible (2002)
1h46m

The Crucible

2002•1h46m•★10.0TMDB

Over 5,000 Canadian soldiers landed on the beaches at Dieppe during World War II, facing significant challenges and heavy losses.

The Crucible
2002
Milice, film noir (1997)
2h8m

Milice, film noir

1997•2h8m•★10.0TMDB

Interviews with former militia members reveal that their persecution of Jews and resistance groups surpassed even the Gestapo's demands during World War II.

Milice, film noir
1997
The Road to Manzanar: The Story of an American Internment Camp (2022)
1h12m

The Road to Manzanar: The Story of an American Internment Camp

2022•1h12m•★9.0TMDB

One of ten internment camps used during WWII, the Manzanar War Relocation Center housed Japanese-Americans without charge or trial after Pearl Harbor.

The Road to Manzanar: The Story of an American Internment Camp
2022
Into The Fire (2011)
2h7m

Into The Fire

2011•2h7m•★8.0TMDB

Over 100 citizens in Canada were beaten, strip searched, and left naked for hours during the G20 summit in 2010.

Into The Fire
2011
Bella Ciao! - German Soldiers in the Italian Resistance (2025)
53m

Bella Ciao! - German Soldiers in the Italian Resistance

2025•53m•★6.5TMDB

Three German soldiers join the Italian resistance in 1943, defying Wehrmacht orders to fight against Nazi control during World War II.

Bella Ciao! - German Soldiers in the Italian Resistance
2025

Browse more by Nicola Zavaglia

View all films →
Above the Drowning Sea (2017)

Above the Drowning Sea

2017

Related Films

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →