The Film:

As the son of a retired decorated military officer, politics and war have often been a part of my life. I remember growing up in Greece and my father not being able to come home during the first Gulf War, and that’s only one of a thousand memories pertaining to the military. In addition to that, two of my uncles were drafted for service during Vietnam, and my grandfather volunteered to join the fight in World War II. As such, the military has quite a presence for itself in the Cook household. Even in my good friends that have enlisted recently, the effects of war are quite apparent. The psychological effects are complex, as seen in one of my uncles that changed drastically from war. To this day he barely addresses the fact that he served. My other uncle doesn’t like what he had to do, but has great pride in his service despite the later lasting effects of new warfare tactics used in Vietnam. My grandfather, too, is very proud of his service to his country in WWII, despite some of the horrors of war he saw.

Going into Soldiers of Conscience, I didn’t know what to expect. I assumed it was going to be a drastically far-left Anti-War movie that painted all soldiers as Neanderthals with machine guns. But such was not the case. The movie follows eight men in the uniformed services, from Private First Class to a Major, encompassing both enlisted men and officers. Four of the subjects are active, retired, or honorably military members and the other four are classified as “CO,” conscientious objectors. The film starts with presenting a little-known fact: 25% percent of soldiers in World War II fired at the enemy when given the chance. “Great,” I thought, “my assumptions were right. I’ve just sat down to an 84-minute anti-war soapbox.” But as the documentary progresses, the vivid footage adds a subtle feel of how primitive war reverts soldiers. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

The central focus for this doc is that of Conscientious Objection, which is defined as refusal on moral or religious grounds to bear arms in a military conflict or to serve in the armed forces. This thought seemed very hypocritical of itself. People who raised their right hand and swore to defend this country changing their mind.

But as the stories weaved from the objectors to the servicemen, with a dash of experts thrown in for good measure, some of the soldiers were making great arguments about their military service and objections. Towards the end of the movie, the film makers caught the court martial of one of the Conscientious Objectors and the outcome. The military doesn’t make conscientious objection an easy out of the military, and this is explained briefly but well-enough to get the point out.

The journey that the film covers is an interesting one, with three of the four objectors presenting valid points. The one that I wasn’t too keen on was the soldier that made his objection more on a religious basis than anything else. He brought up the fact that he was an Evangelical Christian, and the religious aspects of his beliefs conflicting with his duty. But, while the three other objectors used religion as a crumple zone for more substantial reasons,  I found his religious argument laughable considering the enemy and their blind faith being their driving factor. His Utopian views were also very far-fetched. By saying we can live without war and basically saying there are diplomatic solutions for everything I found myself uninterested in his situation.

On the other hand, the soldiers that were following orders weren’t without their own internal struggle. Many times, the four seemed a little too brainwashed. They each had their own way of dealing with what they had to do, and accepted what they’ve done. All four were significantly more patriotic-sounding than the objectors.

In the end, the movie does a good job of addressing the difficulty in killing that our soldiers have in the Iraq War. Soldiers of Conscience addresses the ability to kill when told. The thought-provoking arguments brought on by each of the soldiers were well-constructed and fairly un-bias, though still Anti-War. Neither side is portrayed as the evil, heartless monsters or sissy little Nancy-girls that this could have turned into.  But this is a documentary that everyone should see, regardless of your view on the current war. The situation can be related to every war, as internal struggles of beliefs over duty will always be present.

The DVD:

Audio/Video – Well, this was one of the few DVDs I’ve watched this year. The image upscaled well, though?Some of the source footage is of poor quality, but that’s not the film maker’s fault.

The audio was great considering it was mainly monologues about their experience and some footage of training.

Bonus Material – The DVD’s bonus features were simplistic.

Excerpts to Encourage Discussion – Exactly what is says it is. More of a highlight reel for debate, it strips the movie down to its more thought-provoking parts.

Trailers – Two trailers, one that should be red-banned, and one that focuses on faith.

About Luna Productions – a minute-long intro to the production company. It’s a fancy powerpoint presentation mixed with a business card.

About Docurama – a little paragraph about the distributor.

Conclusion – While this movie didn’t really justify soldiers becoming Conscientious Objectors, it did provide a better understanding of what they have to deal with. From basic training to court martials, this movie does a fairly good job being only a little bias. I will say that the war-time footage is heart-wrenching at times, and sometimes shocking, to say the least. But everyone who can hold their own valid argument should give Soldiers of Conscience a watch.

The Film: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The DVD: Rating: 3 out of 5 stars