סיפורו האמיתי של דזמונד דוס, החייל האמריקאי היחיד בהיסטוריה שלחם במערכה צבאית ללא נשק. דוס, סרבן מצפוני שהכיר בצורך לצאת להילחם אך התנגד לקחת חלק בהרג ממשי, הפך לגיבור מלחמת העולם השנייה כאשר הציל במו ידיו את חייהם של 75 חיילים אמריקאים בקרב המדמם על אוקינואה.
סיפורו האמיתי של פרנץ, חוואי אוסטרי בעל משפחה, אשר סירב להישבע אמונים להיטלר בעת פרוץ מלחמת העולם השנייה. סירובו מביא עליו את זעמם של שאר תושבי העיירה הקטנה בה הוא מתגורר עם אשתו וילדיו, ולאחר מכן גם את זעמם של גורמי השלטון הנאצי בעודו נקרא להתגייס. עקשנותו ומחויבותו חסרת הפשרות למצפונו מוציאה אותו למסע מטלטל אשר דורש ממנו להקריב את חייו
רופא שאינו מסוגל יותר לעסוק ברפואה, מאהב צעיר שהצעת הנישואים שלו לא תהיה ההפתעה היחידה שתכה באהובתו, גבר רודף שלום הנאלץ לבצע מעשה מחריד, ובעל ואב למופת שקם מוקדם בבוקר לעוד יום עבודה רגיל, שאינו רגיל בכלל. באיראן המודרנית, ארבעה סיפורים שונים אך קשורים משרטטים יחד עולם עתיר ניגודים שבו בני אדם מנסים למצוא את חירותם בארץ שבה לחירות יש מחיר.
מתנקש מקצועי מסרב לבצע משימה עבור גנגסטר סיני, מטעמים הקשורים בבנו הקטן של המטרה. עכשיו רוצה המאפיונר להחליפו ושולח מתנקשים לחסל אותו ואת בני משפחתו בסין. המתנקש מבקש את עזרתה של זייפנית מסמכים כדי להנפיק לעצמו דרכון, על מנת לחזור למולדת הישנה ולהציל את המשפחה, אלא שהמתנקשים מפריעים לו, והוא מוצא עצמו נמלט בחברת הזייפנית, גם מפניהם וגם מהמשטרה.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This documentary is the story of two Mennonite brothers from Manitoba who were forced to make a decision in 1939, as Canada joined World War II. In the face of 400 years of pacifist tradition, should they now go to war? Ted became a conscientious objector while his brother went into military service. Fifty years later, the town of Winkler dedicates its first war memorial and John begins to share his war experiences with Ted.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.