Customer Reviews

Serving in Silence: Margarethe Cammermeyer [VHS]

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is to the US Military's everlasting shame that they saw fit to persecute and expel a true decorated American war hero. War hero? Well what would you call an Army Nurse (24th Evac., Long Binh) who worked tirelessly to save the lives of teenage soldiers in an insanely busy surgical unit, where the word "Incoming" could mean more than the next influx of wounded.

The movie understatedly captures how Cammermeyer (Bronze Star)and her nursing staff, and their Red Cross sisters (the Red Cross women still have no Vet status) risked their lives on a daily basis, never knowing when the next mortar round or 122mm rocket would slam into their Evac hospitals or MUSTs, or as with the 6th Convalescent Center at Cam Ranh Bay, when the VC sappers might attack directly.

As a reality check, the first member of the Army Nurse Corps to be killed by direct enemy action was 1 / L Sharon Ann Lane, who died when a Russsian-made 8 inch diameter rocket struck Ward 4 of the 312th Evac at Chu Lai.

8 Army Nurses died in Vietnam.

That a true blue American woman, like Cammermeyer, who had given so much to so many should be driven out of the service that she loved because of something so pathetic as her orientation is perhaps the greatest indictment of a system that is full of double standards.

Close and Davis were simply magnificent, and the only way in which this movie goes out to shock is by accurately telling this true tale of unimaginable injustice. The only obscenity lay in the outcome of the hearings.

There have always been (...) in the military. Always. And there always will be. I was not one of them. I just don't like it when the bad guys win.

There's a special place in Heaven for the women who served in Nam. All 15,000 of them. Vets every one.

Courage knows no race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.

Col. Cammermeyer is presently researching a Don't Ask, Don't Tell project. Best of luck ma'am.

Having been in a similar situation, I know how it goes. The story rings true only for the military officers...enlisted on the other hand go thru alot more turmoil and harrassment. Glenn
Close did a wonderful job on this, as she always does.

Ms. Close IS Grethe in this movie - she does an excellent job of portraying her! I still cry when I see this movie. Thank you, Grethe, Ms. Close, Ms. Streisand, and everyone who came together to tell this story. Please educate yourself and others. Education is the key which unlocks closed minds.

Some of the movies I have seen depicting lesbians are sometimes a little difficult to relate to because being "a lesbian" is completely what the film is about. This story is different where what is unfolded is a story about people. Not just the two women who have a loving relationship with each other, but their families, the support and understanding that their family offers. The fears that are real also are portrayed very honestly; Fears of being rejected, fears of losing everything. Working hard, loving your family, loving your life, really making a difference in people's lives and enjoying your work brings respect and admiration to individuals who have these attributes. This story shows, how none of that matters to the Army and some close-minded folks. The hurt that results from such homophobia made me cry as well as the struggles and triumps. I could do nothing but think of this story for days.

This movie is for everyone. Not just gays and lesbians. Not just for family and friends of gays and lesbians. It is a ground breaking movie with love, honesty, and understanding being the main motivation for characters in this story.

Serving in Silience was very interesting for both homosexuals as well as heterosexuals. It debates the question "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" which as a mixture of great drama as well as how being a homosexual can interfear with the duties of an officer.

Gretta's(Close) life was her four grown sons and her life as a military officer. When acidentally she tell a top secret interview that she was a lesbian. Much controversy revolves around the subject of homosexurality. When she was going to be let go from the military she decided to fight. Althouh she was stripped of her position on the army reserve she decided that she not going to just let 23 years of her life be forgotten. She sued the army reserve and was sucessful. So the next time you feel that you are being discriminated against don't let them beat on you fight back!

This movie contains an incredible cast, with an INCREDIBLE story. Margarethe Cammermeyer, Colonel in the United States Army discloses during a security clearence upgrade that she is a lesbian. Her poignent take on her identiy, "I connect emotionally to women" and her self-examination during her security interview has to be one of the most honest portrayls of lesbian identity.

In the end, you will cry and be outraged. But you will be proud and applauding at the end. Also, Glenn Close isn't bad to look at either!

I was lucky enough to have received a tape of this when it aired in the mid-1990s. However, I am glad that many others will now get to see it. The film does not stray for from the book, something I also recommend.

Within the gay community, there are concerns that the young, men, the happily out, etc. get center stage in media representations at the expense of others. This work speaks to rarely mentioned audiences: women, an older person, a closeted person in the military, and a person who had a heterosexual past. Personally, I thought Glenn Close fit this role much better than she did the vampy personas in "Fatal Attraction" or "Les Liaisons Dangereuses."

Too many people think that "gays" are constantly "pushing their agenda." Here, we see that Cammermeyer came out only in order to be honest in an interview. She had no intentions of becoming a spokesperson or an activist. Her future daughter-in-law says something like, "I plan on being nice to you despite your sin." I love that Cammermeyer challenged that half-buttockedness and said, "I raised my kids, paid my taxes, and obeyed the law like everyone else. This 'agreeing to disagree' won't cut it."

Because this was a made-for-TV movie, the places where commercials should be inserted will be obvious and may annoy some DVD viewers. Still, this documents an issue that was big in the 1990s after AIDS was diagnosed in the 1980s and before Massachusetts allowed gay marriage in the 2000s. I encourage many to view this.

This is a film that allows gays and lesbians to feel proud of who they are. Margarethe Cammermeyer is truly a woman who sets an example to all of us and this shows in this movie. Both Close and Davis were excellent as Cammermeyer and Divelbess and brought a tear to my eye on more than one occasion. This truly shows how bigoted the military is.

Factual content, about an extraordinary military officer and a woman (Margerithe Cammermire), who balanced family and career. A decorated Vietnam Veteran who, (like so many before her), was publically ridiculed, spit on and forced to leave her Army, her longtime career as an officer. Colonel Cammermire was put on "trial" like a common criminal when in fact she had committed no crime other than to love another woman. I liked this movie because it told it like it is, and has been for the past several decades for gay military people. "Serving in Silence", covered a lot of content in just two hours. Gena Davis did a good job as Cammermires friend & lover, but Glen Close carried most of the film all by herself. This was a groundbreaking film and I hope to see many more like it.

P. O'Brien

I thought this movie was fantastic. It was well made and the story was well told. The acting was great!
I may speak from personal knowledge of the Army's lack of willingness to grow and allow change, even when they are proven wrong. The service is one of the last hiding places for legal discrimination. This movie told the story with good attention to detail and realism. Glen Close did an outstanding job and I was impressed with the supporting cast.
If you want to know the truth or just enjoy a great movie buy this video.