Open Secrets (2004)
• May 24th, 2004 • 0h 52min
Documentary
Overview
This provocative documentary uncovers a lost chapter in Canadian military history: how the Armed Forces dealt with homosexual behaviour among soldiers, during and after World War II. More than 60 years later, a group of five veterans, barely adults when they enlisted, break the silence to talk about how homosexual behaviour "was even more unmentionable than cancer." Yet amidst the brutality of war, instances of sexual awakening among soldiers and officers were occuring. Initially, the Army overlooked it, but as the war advanced, they began to crack down: military tribunals, threats of imprisonment, discharge and public exposure. After the war, officers accused of homosexuality were discharged. Back home in Canada, reputations and careers were ruined. For the young men who had served their country with valour, this final chapter was often too much to bear. Based on the book Courting Homosexuals in the Military by Paul Jackson.
Make sure to check your pop-up blocker!!
Trailer
Similar Movies
Make Me Famous
Released on: 2023-02-17
Documentary
An investigation of Edward Brezinski, an ambitious, charismatic Lower East Side painter hell-bent on...
Batato
Released on: 1991-07-21
Documentary
Experimental documentary short starring Batato Barea and Peter Pank, filmed in July 1991
Elton John: A Singular Man
Released on: 2016-01-09
Documentary, Music, TV Movie
An in-depth portrait of British composer, pianist and singer Elton John, pop star and myth of modern...
Dead Gay Men and Living Lesbians
Released on: 2008-02-09
Documentary, History
As a result of the Holocaust and later, AIDS, the male homosexual community has sustained bitter los...
Army of Lovers or Revolt of the Perverts
Released on: 1979-05-04
Documentary
Personal diary-style documentary of German Gay rights activist Von Praunheim's sojourn in the US.
Track Two
Released on: 1982-07-01
Documentary
Documentary on the growth of Toronto's gay community including positive developments as well as the ...
Besa: The Promise
Released on: 2012-07-19
Documentary
A documentary exploring how Albanians, including many Muslims, helped and sheltered Jewish refugees ...
Night and Fog
Released on: 1959-04-27
Documentary, History
Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.
The Ring Thing
Released on: 2017-06-02
Drama, Romance, Documentary
When Sarah accidentally proposes to her girlfriend in Provincetown, the mixup turns their loving rel...
Desire Lines
Released on: 2024-01-22
Documentary, Drama
Past and present collide when an Iranian American trans man time-travels through an LGBTQ+ archive o...
A Hole In The Head
Released on: 2017-03-16
Documentary
A pig farm in Lety, South Bohemia would make an ideal monument to collaboration and indifference, sa...
Shipyard
Released on: 2009-06-10
Documentary
Shipyard is a landmark documentary covering the creation and life of Bellingham, Washington's wooden...
Will & Harper
Released on: 2024-09-12
Documentary, Comedy
When Will Ferrell's good friend Harper comes out as a trans woman, they take a road trip to bond and...
Das Dorf der Freundschaft
Released on: 2001-08-25
Documentary
A German Documentary about the “village of friendship” that was created by American Veteran George M...
Stalingrad - Stimmen aus Ruinen
Released on: 2023-01-03
War, Documentary
Featuring excerpts from diaries and letters written by local residents and soldiers from both sides,...
Five Came Back
Released on: 2017-03-31
Documentary, War
The extraordinary story of how Hollywood changed World War II – and how World War II changed Hollywo...
Death & the Maiden
Released on: 2014-07-16
Documentary, History
Shortly after World War II, over 1,000 paintings were found in a cellar in southern France. The pain...