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Some Won’t Go – a Gil W. Toff film
Each young man who resists the draft
has his own reason for not wanting to be in the army. Some Won’t Go lets each
man speak for himself, in his own language, with his own gestures, from his
own experience. It shows the young man in the army who has gone AWOL, the
young man doing alternative service, and the young men who fled to Canada to
seek refuge there, in much the same way the Black slaves of the last century
took the “Underground Railroad” to freedom in the North.
One man resists because his best
friend was needlessly killed in Vietnam..another because he is ideologically
opposed to the war..another because he feels his right is not on the side of
the military – but towards changing society, another because he thinks the
selective service system is unjust, exploiting the poor and minorities…while
giving the middle class student deferments. Some Won’t Go shows that each young man feels responsibility to a higher law
than the legal law of military conscription, and that each is, one degree or
another, willing to pay the price of his convictions. Some Won’t Go also shows that in each case,
the decision to refuse the draft represents a move towards social
involvement, a commitment to something that cannot be sacrificed for the sake
of conformity, rather than the moving away, the individual, self-indulgent
withdrawal it is so often accused of being by its critics. But the importance of
the film Some Won’t Go is that it presents the dynamic of one of the
most important developments of our time.
From the bottom up Some Won’t Go reveals who, and how, and why
young men in America are refusing to serve in the army - and by refusing to
serve in the army are also rejecting unequivocally the militarization, the
racism, and the dehumanization of what has become to be known as the American
way of life. Every level of draft resistance
is explored in Some Won’t Go – from the probing, uncertain young potential draftee, to
spiritual, legal and religious counseling, to street scenes of incredible
police violence against organized demonstrations in support of draft
resisters. The scenes are taut with the
weight of what the young men have at steak, the years of their lives that
hang in the balance. One cannot help
but flinch at the mother making the sign of the cross upon her son, and the
young woman clinching in tears to her boyfriend as these decisions are faced. The use of contrast throughout the
film is very effective. The first
part shows the ritual of the army: registration, induction, and
examination. The action is totally
fragmented and dehumanizing as the men, en masse, undress…dress line up…and
follow orders. The soundtrack here is hollow and meaningless, as men’s voices
jar against each other in tones of dishonesty and false authority. The second part treats the draft resisters
and the resistance movement. The mood
shifts from the degradation of the human assembly line of the military, to a
huge sense of the worth of the individual and the value of human life. The images of uniforms, American flags,
the drudgery of paper work and military cliché gives way to the images of
flowers offered to draftees by women in the resistance, the breaking of bread
in a church service for resisters and silver chalices holding burned draft
cards. “Important, lively, intelligent fact film, capturing the essence of why young people are taking their moral stand against the draft and the Vietnam War. More than a blast at the war and conscription. A vital, mature experience of conscience and the process of thinking for oneself.” -- William Wolf, Cue Magazine “…the most intelligent and moving film on the American
resistance.” -- Emile deAntonio, Film Producer “…sensitive... a very moving experience.” -- Dan Talbot, New Yorker Theatre
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▪ About Us ▪
Some Won’t Go ▪ The Inner Revolution ▪
Busted!
▪ Contact ▪
I-Accuse – current project
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