After a long election week, give yourself a break this weekend. Monday will bring Veterans Day, the federal holiday recognizing those who have served in the United States armed forces, and a dedicated stream makes for a great salute to their service. 

You can reflect on the meaning of the holiday by going back to its origins with a pair of films depicting World War I, or by queuing up some more contemporary stories about veterans’ experiences after coming home from deployment. And if you prefer a less direct approach to the subject than actual military stories, you can show your support by watching movies of other genres made by actors and filmmakers who are vets themselves. 

But first, what’s new on Netflix?

The start of the holiday season. Rusty Cundieff’s festive new rom-com Meet Me Next Christmas stars Christina Milian as a woman on a mission to go to the Pentatonix Christmas Eve concert, who finds some romantic harmony in the process. Still too early for you? Cling to the last bits of summer with Season 4, Part 2 of Outer Banks, in which the Pogues’ latest adventure comes to a dramatic conclusion. All a little too earthbound? The new docuseries Investigation Alien sees reporter George Knapp search for new evidence of UFOs.  

If you have just a night … 

Go back to the beginning. Veterans Day is observed on Nov. 11 in recognition of the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I, and you can devote a night to that episode in world history with a double feature of acclaimed films dramatizing it. First, Sam Mendes’ 1917, released in 2019 and inspired in part by the filmmaker’s own grandfather’s stories, stars George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman as a pair of British soldiers on a dangerous mission. The film won three Oscars out of 10 nominations. Follow it with All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger’s 2022 adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel, an anti-war epic (nominated for nine Oscars, winning four) starring Felix Kammerer as a young German soldier.  

If you have a whole day … 

Celebrate Hollywood vets with a trio of films featuring stars who served. Start with 2004’s Million Dollar Baby, about an amateur boxer (Hilary Swank) who aspires to go pro. Directed by Clint Eastwood (Army) and also starring Morgan Freeman (Air Force), the film won Best Picture, Best Director, and acting Oscars for both Swank and Freeman. Go from the ring to the diamond with Phil Alden Robinson’s beloved baseball drama Field of Dreams (1989), which stars Kevin Costner as a man who builds a baseball field for ghosts (really!) with the help of an enigmatic writer played by James Earl Jones (Army). Close things out with a laugh: Steven Soderbergh’s uproarious 2017 heist comedy Logan Lucky stars Adam Driver (Marines) and Channing Tatum as brothers who conspire to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway. 

If you have the entire weekend … 

Thank them for their service. Fill the weekend with veterans’ stories, starting with some factual ones. The 2018 anthology docuseries Medal of Honor comprises eight episodes, each of which portrays the experience of an American service member who received the Medal of Honor. Follow it with a pair of films: Joshua Caldwell’s Mending the Line (2022) stars Sinqua Walls as a Marine who, upon returning to the States from Afghanistan, forges an unlikely friendship with a Vietnam vet (Brian Cox). And 2017’s Thank You For Your Service, directed by Jason Hall and based on the nonfiction book by David Finkel, stars Miles Teller as a soldier who comes home from Iraq and struggles with PTSD as he tries to adapt to civilian life.  

Don’t forget, you have one last chance … 

To go underground. Harriet, Kasi Lemmons’ 2019 biopic portraying the extraordinary life of Harriet Tubman, stars Cynthia Erivo as the abolitionist in a performance that earned her an Oscar nomination. You have one more week to stream her story. 

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