SURVIVING THE SILENCE plays as part of the Paris International Film Festival 2021.
Tickets available at: https://www.parisintlfest.com/
The traditional cinematic model for a military legal drama tends to veer towards the likes of Rob Reiner’s award contender A FEW GOOD MEN (1992), adapted by Aaron Sorkin from his original stage play, in which a Navy lawyer, Daniel Kaffee (Tom Cruise) has to investigate the murder of a Marine in Guantanamo Bay, under the watchful eye of a Naval Internal Affairs officer, Commander Joanne Galloway (Demi Moore).
However, there is a much more concerning undercurrent within the military regarding the prejudice and rejection felt by those of LGBTQ+ over the decades – and an new documentary which formed the basis of a TV movie executive-produced by Barbra Streisand in 1995 focuses on the effect a landmark military tribunal had on three women who were both directly and indirectly affected by it, as well as the after-effect it had on the military itself.
SURVIVING THE SILENCE, based on the memoir of Army Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer which also formed the basis of the aforementioned Streisand film (which starred Glenn Close), focuses on the unknown history of the woman who presided over the review board that dismissed Cammermeyer following an investigation into her admission that she was a lesbian which denied her the chance to become a General. Col. Patsy Thompson was also hiding her own truth in that she was involved in a civil partnership with a long-term love of her life, Barbara Brass.
The film shows the journeys that each woman took on the path to their destiny to the review board and also reveals the long-term effect and emotional feelings and ambitions that each had in their own respective professional pursuit, as well as highlighting the key legal changes and challenges to whether or not being of LGBTQ+ sensitivities would be a bar to serving your country in a valid context.
In addition, we discover a sense that the three women demonstrate a sincerity in their intentions, as well as coming to terms with their own heartfelt truth in a world that has often been dismissive of more diverse and gender-varied backgrounds that have felt persecuted in their desire for acceptance and to be embraced by the Establishment.
SURVIVING THE SILENCE, written and directed by Cindy L. Abel, is a movie that demonstrates triumph over oppression and should not be defined purely as a movie about women of a certain gender-defined demographic. It is a movie that should inspire anyone who has ever felt cheated or denied a chance to make a difference in an ever-challenging world. The women in this film defined their own as well as future generations and one hopes there will come a time when women like this are beyond equal in the world thanks to a truly inspiring experience and story – and a valid educational reference for anyone wishing to appreciate and embrace change in the modern twenty-first century context.
One of the documentaries of 2021.
