Love+War

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Love+War

2025

1h 35m

Documentary

War

Biography

History

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100%

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22 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

Pulitzer Prize-winning Lynsey Addario has risked her life to capture the stark realities of war -- from the Middle East and Afghanistan to Ukraine. From National Geographic Documentary Films and Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin,  Love+War  chronicles Addario’s ascent in the male-dominated world of conflict photography. But her work is dangerous. She's been kidnapped twice while on assignment in war zones -- a cost she must wrestle with each time she leaves her husband and two sons to go on assignment. Behind the camera, Addario is torn between her unwavering commitment to the essential work of journalism and the powerful, competing demands of motherhood, grappling with what it truly means to follow your calling when it threatens everything you love.

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Craig Mathieson

The Age (Australia)

Nov 20

3/5

Ultimately, the good outweighs the makeweight, especially as Addario is a striking personality with a history intertwined through too many of this century’s wars.

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Peter Rainer

FilmWeek (LAist)

Nov 10

It's a powerful movie. It represents a portrait of someone with a really bifurcated life.

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Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (LAist)

Nov 10

Very, very strong. It's not about the Ukrainian war, per se, but it's really about her.

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Ruth Maramis

FlixChatter Film Blog

Dec 1

4/5

It’s a gripping and intense film that captures the horrors of war, but also has moments of familial joy and tenderness. Love+War perfectly captures the two contrasting realms Lynsey Addario constantly navigates.

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Rodrigo Perez

The Playlist

Nov 24

B

By the end, “Love+War” feels less like a career recap and more like a confrontation—with sacrifice, guilt, compromise, and the cost of devotion. Addario’s life is defined by her own conflicts, and the movie honors that without flinching.

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Stephen Silver

The SS Ben Hecht

Nov 8

A fascinating documentary about Addario, the famed war photographer, and more specifically, about how she juggles being a wife and mother, with going off to work in Ukraine, and some of the world’s other most dangerous places

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Danny S

@Seldom_Seen 1d

Being a keen photographer myself, I was really looking forward to this. If i was to base my review on solely that aspect of the film, then this would have gotten closer to 5 stars. Lynsey Addario has an unwavering dedication and passion for her work. This is seen through the great risk she places herself at to inform the world of issues we wouldn't otherwise see. The devastation of war. The sadness. The emotional toll. However, the greatest sadness i felt throughout, was for her very own children. The reality of having a completely absent mother. (Even her brief visits home) Her eldest son seemed very affected by it all. Yet her biggest concern always seemed to be herself and her work. I really struggled with this aspect of the film. I'm not one to judge, but it really tainted how i felt about Lynsey. (Obviously this is a small window into her life. But a seemingly telling one.)

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Robert B.

@bbethem Jan 17

Self indulgent and contrived.

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Martin E

Nov 20

Wow—I did not expect this. Granted, the documentary captures Lynsey’s incredibly important work in such an engaging and forceful way. That alone makes it worth watching. But what truly elevates this film is its brutally honest portrayal of a female war photographer navigating carnage and crisis while striving to be both a devoted mother and partner. The scenes at home with her family are, at times, as haunting as the raw footage from the battlefield. This is very powerful storytelling. You can practically feel how Lynsey is torn between two starkly different yet equally vital worlds—and you feel it with her. I highly recommend this.

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Pierre louis P

Nov 19

Fantastic and emotional documentary . Beautifully done …. All about being a women, a mother and a journalist today . Highly recommended !!!!

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Lars M

Nov 18

Lynsey’s Love+War is one of the most powerful documentaries I’ve seen in a long time. Moving, beautifully made, and impossible to forget. Everyone should watch it.

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Rachel M

Nov 9

I really wanted to like her but I ended up not liking her. Clearly, her sons need her. Yes, it’s important to document war but it’s more important to document love. Find love- Start with making your sons your top priority. Then go into your own community and the world- find love, compassion, and kindness stories to photograph.

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Jimmy Chin

Director

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Director

Lynsey Addario

Self

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Producer

Jimmy Chin

Producer

Shannon Dill

Producer

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Synopsis

Pulitzer Prize-winning Lynsey Addario has risked her life to capture the stark realities of war -- from the Middle East and Afghanistan to Ukraine. From National Geographic Documentary Films and Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin,  Love+War  chronicles Addario’s ascent in the male-dominated world of conflict photography. But her work is dangerous. She's been kidnapped twice while on assignment in war zones -- a cost she must wrestle with each time she leaves her husband and two sons to go on assignment. Behind the camera, Addario is torn between her unwavering commitment to the essential work of journalism and the powerful, competing demands of motherhood, grappling with what it truly means to follow your calling when it threatens everything you love.

Director: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi
Producer: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Shannon Dill, Anna Barnes
Distributor: National Geographic
Production Co: National Geographic Documentary Films, Little Monster Films
Genre: Documentary, War, Biography, History
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 29, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 7, 2025
Runtime: 1h 35m
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

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