''The Conscientious Objector'' is a 2004 documentary film about the life of

Desmond Doss Desmond Thomas Doss (February 7, 1919 – March 23, 2006) was a United States Army corporal who served as a combat medic with an infantry company in World War II. He was twice awarded the Bronze Star Medal for actions on Guam and in the Phil ...

, a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

who received a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

for his service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Due to his religious convictions as a Seventh-day Adventist, he refused to carry a weapon. He initially faced opposition, persecution, and ridicule from his fellow soldiers but ultimately won their admiration by demonstrating courage and saving lives as a

combat medic A combat medic, or healthcare specialist, is responsible for providing emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injury ...

. In 2016, a

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

film dramatizing Doss's life, '' Hacksaw Ridge'', with

Andrew Garfield Andrew Russell Garfield (born 20 August 1983) is an English and American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, a BAFTA TV Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards. ''Time'' ...

as Doss, was released to mostly critical and commercial success. It also signaled Gibson's welcome-back to Hollywood.

Reception

The film has received some positive acclaim. The film has won multiple awards, including: *

Long Island International Film Expo The Long Island International Film Expo, founded in 1997 by Nassau County Film Office Director, Debra Markowitz. The festival generally receives between 400 and 450 submissions every year In 2009, 170 films from 23 countries were screened at the ...

Festival Prize—Best Feature Film * Santa Cruz Film Festival Audience Award—Best Documentary * Heartland Film Festival Crystal Heart Award—Best Director * Cinequest Film Festival Audience Choice Award * Cinequest Film Festival Director's Award

References

External links

*
''The Conscientious Objector''
at the

Christian Film Database ChristianFilmDatabase.com, LLC (CFDb) is an online database of Christian films and their associated information. It was designed to be a Christian version of the Internet Movie Database. History of the CFDb website CFDb was founded in 2008 b ...

* * 2004 films Documentary films about veterans Conscientious objection Documentary films about World War II 2000s English-language films {{christian-film-stub