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The Conscientious Objector, a review by Antares

The Conscientious Objector





Year: 2004
Film Studio: Cinequest Entertainment
Genre: Documentary, Special Interest
Length: 101 Min.

Director
Terry Benedict

Writer
Terry Benedict...Writer
Jeff Wood...Writer

Producer
Terry Benedict
Jonathan Sheinberg
Gabe Videla (1944)

Cinematographer
Francis Kenny
Suki Medencevic (1963)
Darko Suvak

Music
Bob Christianson...Composer

Stars
Max Cleland (1942) as Himself
Desmond T. Doss as Himself

Review
       Most film lovers know the story of Alvin York, the World War I soldier who was drafted, yet requested deferment as a conscientious objector due to his religious beliefs. In the film Sergeant York, he was stoically and humbly portrayed by Gary Cooper as a man who must choose between his religious beliefs and fighting for his country. In the end, York comes to understand that the evils of the world must be vanquished, and the only way is to carry arms and fight and kill the oppressive enemies of the United States. He rescinded his application for exemption and was shipped to France in 1918. After capturing an entire company of German soldiers single-handedly, York is awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the highest medal for valor. Sadly, for York, he also had to kill many men in his attempt at capturing the soldiers, and this haunted him in his later years.

       In World War II, another religious man wrestled with the same choices as York, his name was Desmond T. Doss. Doss was also a southerner with a deep theological aversion to war, a man who took the commandments, especially the sixth; Thou Shalt not Kill as sacred law. But where York acquiesced when shown the greater picture before him, Doss held fast to his beliefs and joined the Army as a medic. He refused to brandish any kind of weapon, and as a Seventh-day Adventist, held fast to his duty to remember the Sabbath every Saturday. This would bring him into conflict not only with his fellow soldiers, but with his superior officers, who viewed him as a slacker and a coward unwilling to fight.

       After enduring an endless assault of scorn and ridicule in boot camp, Doss and his company were shipped out to the Pacific theater of operations. It was on an escarpment on Okinawa that the legendary heroics of Desmond Doss would come to life. When the 307th Infantry Division assaulted the Maeda Escarpment on May 5, 1945, heavy ground and artillery fire pinned them to their position. The unit was suffering heavy casualties under the relentless barrage being thrust upon them by the Japanese. Over the course of 12 hours, Doss rescued 75 men by lowering each man by rope from the top of the escarpment, all under enemy fire. This course of action would result in his receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor on Nov. 1, 1945. When President Harry Truman was pinning the medal on Doss, he told the soldier, Another incident, two weeks after the escarpment battle would speak volumes as to the character and bravery of this most amazing man. On May 21, 1945, Doss was once again out on the battlefield attempting to rescue his wounded comrades when he himself was wounded by a grenade. He was stuck out in for five hours before litter bearers reached him. On the way back to the American front lines, he noticed a more seriously injured man, and slipped off the stretcher, instructing the bearers to take the other man first.

       While Sergeant York'Hero'Ratings Criterion
5 Stars - The pinnacle of film perfection and excellence.

(From The Conscientious Objector (2004) on December 4th, 2009)

The Classic, a review by Tom

The Classic (2003/South Korea) IMDb | Wikipedia EDKO Films (Hong Kong) Director: Kwak Jae-young Writing: Kwak Jae-young (Writer) Length: 133 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35 Audio: Korean: Dolby Digital 5.1, Cantonese: Dolby Digital 5.1, Korean: DTS 5.1 Subtitles: Chinese, English

---

Stars:
Son Ye-jin as Ji-hae/Ju-hie
Jo In-seong as Sang-min
Cho Seung-woo as Jun-ho
Lee Ki-woo as Tae-su
Lee Sang-in as Su-kyeong

Plot:
Ji-hae and Soo-kyoung are attending the same university and both have a crush on Sang-min. Soo-kyoung then asks Ji-hae to do her a favor - write love letters to Sang-min. Ji-hae pours out her own feelings for him on paper, but sadly in her friend's name. One day, she finds a secret box full of her mom's first love story, which is, coincidentally, similar to her story....

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Trailers

A great love story! Both romances are executed nicely and are very touching. The actors all did a great job. Especially Son Ye-jin who played both the main character in the present and her mother in the flashback scenes.
I see that this is the fourth movie I have watched by this same director/writer, and I also had very much enjoyed the previous three movies (Cyborg She, My Sassy Girl and Windstruck). I still have one of his movies left in my unwatched pile

P.S.: My actual cover of my DVD release is so much nicer.



Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on November 7th, 2010)

Doctor Who Marathon, a review by Tom

Doctor Who
Series 2.02 Tooth and Claw
Writer: Russell T Davies (Writer)
Director: Euros Lyn
Cast: David Tennant (The Doctor), Billie Piper (Rose Tyler), Pauline Collins (Queen Victoria), Ian Hanmore (Father Angelo), Michelle Duncan (Lady Isobel), Derek Riddell (Sir Robert), Jamie Sives (Captain Reynolds), Ron Donachie (Steward), Thomas J. Smith (The Host), Ruthie Milne (Flora)

Not one of my favorites. I don't think that Doctor Who and a werewolf story fit together. This episode shows the foundation of the Torchwood institute.




(From Doctor Who Marathon on March 12th, 2014)