Krátko potom, čo Japonci 7. decembra 1941 zaútočili na Pearl Harbor, prihlásil sa dvadsaťtriročný Američan Desmond Doss, tak ako mnoho iných mladíkov, do služby vlasti. Z hĺbky svojho presvedčenia však odmietal nosiť akúkoľvek zbraň a zabíjať. Stal sa zdravotníkom 307. pešieho pluku 77. pešej divízie. Skutočnosť, že Doss odmietal zbraň, sa nestretávala s pochopením u jeho spolubojovníkov. Len blázon by chvel, aby mu v boji kryl chrbát chlapík, vyzbrojený len odhodlaním a lekárničkou. Často musel čeliť nevraživosti a útokom ostatných vojakov. Napriek tomu, ako jediný americký vojak 2. svetovej vojne, bojoval v prvých líniách neozbrojený. V marci 1945 vypukla krvavá bitka o Okinawu. Dossova rota mala za úlohu dobyť 120 metrový vysoký útes. Počas vyčerpávajúcich 12 hodín, za stáleho ostreľovania, zachránil životy 75 vojakom.
Austrian farmer Franz Jägerstätter faces the threat of execution for refusing to fight for the Nazis during World War II.
After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.
Detektív Stan „Zeedo“ Zedkov pri záťahu na obchodníkov s drogami zabije syna mafiánskeho bossa Terenca Weia. Ten nariadi jednému zo svojich najlepších mužov, aby zabil Zedkovho sedemročného syna. No skúsený zabijak John Lee nedokáže zastreliť nevinné dieťa, takže odmietne príkaz splniť. Keďže si uvedomuje, že tým ohrozí svoju matku a dcéru žijúcu v Šanghaji, rozhodne sa zachrániť seba i rodinu skôr, ako sa k nim dostanú Weiovi muži. S mladou falšovateľkou Meg musia zabrániť chlapcovej smrti, inak bola jeho vzbura celkom zbytočná. John zistí, že k vražde má dôjsť v kine na detskom predstavení. Dvojica si teda zaobstará zbrane od známeho priekupníka a vydá sa dieťa zachrániť...
Alvin York a hillbilly sharpshooter transforms himself from ruffian to religious pacifist. He is then called to serve his country and despite deep religious and moral objections to fighting becomes one of the most celebrated American heroes of WWI.
Kaji is sent to the Japanese army labeled Red and is mistreated by the vets. Along his assignment, Kaji witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against the recruit Obara. He also sees his friend Shinjô Ittôhei defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.
Painter Dora Carrington develops an intimate but extremely complex bond with writer Lytton Strachey. Though Lytton is a homosexual, he is enchanted by the mysterious Dora and they begin a lifelong friendship that has strangely romantic undertones. Eventually, Lytton and Dora decide to live together, despite the fact that the latter has fallen in love with military man Ralph Partridge, whom she plans to marry.
Heshmat, príkladný manžel a otec, dennodenne vstáva skoro ráno. Ale kam chodieva? Pouya si nevie predstaviť zabiť človeka, avšak je k tomu donútený. Javad nevie, že žiadosť o ruku jeho milovanej nebude jediné prekvapenie na jej narodeniny. Bahram je lekár, ale nedokáže praktizovať medicínu. Rozhodne sa vysvetliť neteri, ktorá ho navštevuje, dôvod prečo žije ako vyvrheľ. Štyri príbehy, ktoré tvoria There is no Evil ponúkajú variácie na kľúčové témy morálnej sily a trest smrti. Pýtajú sa, do akej miery môže byť sloboda jednotlivca vyjadrená pod despotickým režimom a jeho zdanlivo nevyhnutými hrozbami.
Having just moved back in with his working-class parents, twentysomething on-and-off philosophy undergrad Walter navigates turn-of-the-millennium Turin and Gen-X ennui.
A mild-mannered English conscientious objector moves to what he feels will be the relative calm of Australia after World War I, but gets caught in the middle of violent battles between the rising trade unions and fascist groups.
At the end of World War II, a French pacifist is arrested for refusing to fight. In prison, he befriends a German priest arrested for murder of a French Resistance fighter. They discuss morality, obedience, and religion.
In 1916, the New Zealand Government secretly shipped 14 of the country's most outspoken conscientious objectors to the Western Front in an attempt to convert, silence, or quite possibly kill them. This is their story.
Margaret Williams directs this 2001 production of adaptation of Benjamin Britten's television opera based on a short story by Henry James. Performers featured include Gerald Finley, Peter Savidge and Josephine Barstow. The conductor is Kent Nagano. As pertinent now as then, OWEN WINGRAVE was composed by Benjamin Britten at the height of the Vietnam War. The opera poses the question: Is pacifism an act of cowardice? Or rather a desire to escape from the spiral of war and create world peace? To what extent do we determine our own futures? Should we let past events inform the decisions we make? Britten’s characters grapple with timeless issues in this gripping psychodrama.
During the Civil War, a conscientious objector is forced to flee to the woods of West Virginia to avoid being sent into combat where he would be forced to kill, which he is adamantly against. He sets up shelter in a cave and is warily accepted by his new "neighbors"--the animals who live in the vicinity.
At the risk of a 5-year prison term, Francesco Da Vinci struggles with his Virginia draft board to be recognized as a sincere conscientious objector to the Vietnam war.
Documentary film about Arndt Pekurinen and the peace movement in the early 20th century. Pekurinen spoke out for pacifism, conscientious objection and peace, and received support for his actions around the world. However, his worldview collided with the nationalist and militaristic atmosphere of the era in Finland. He was considered a troublemaker, a traitor, and a caricature of masculinity. The film is a universal and timeless account of a man persecuted for his opinions. At the same time, it is a description of the weak tolerance of young independent Finland towards dissidents. Pekurinen was executed during the Continuation War by his compatriots on November 5, 1941.
Like all Israeli youth, Atalya is obligated to become a soldier. Unlike most, she questions the practices of her country's military, and becomes determined to challenge this rite of passage. Despite her family's political disagreements and personal concerns, she refuses military duty and is imprisoned for her dissent. Her courage moves those around her to reconsider their own moral positions and personal power. OBJECTOR follows Atalya to prison and beyond, offering a unique window into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the perspective of a young woman who seeks truth and takes a stand for justice.
A documentary about the 8-day sit-in struggle by GANG Cheolmin, a 22 year-old private in the South Korean army who declared his objection to military service on November 21, 2003 in order to stop the South Korean government from sending troops to Iraq, and the peace groups supporting him.
Ko Eun-young, a thirty, non-naitive Jeju Island woman with no experience in politics, runs for Jeju governor in the 2018 local elections. The bumpy ride Ko and her colleagues undergo during the election campaign moves and changes them.