THE INVISIBLE WAR (Kirby Dick, USA). 99 minutes. Subtitled. Rating: NNNN
Having confronted an abusive Catholic priest in Twist Of Faith and closeted anti-gay lawmakers in Outrage, director Kirby Dick addresses another obscene abuse of authority in The Invisible War: the culture of rape that exists within the U.S. armed forces.
Dick and producer Amy Ziering open with the statistic that approximately 20% of women in the military have been sexually assaulted while serving – and proceed to show how that’s possible, depicting a culture of alpha-male entitlement further enabled by a military structure that blames the victim and discourages the filing of complaints. (A rape victim can be charged with adultery if her rapist is married.)
It’s an important, infuriating work. The testimonials from assaulted servicewomen and men should be screened on a loop in recruiting offices around the world.
Apr 27, 3:30 pm, Bloor Hot Docs Cinema Apr 28, 9 pm, ROM Theatre May 5, 3:15 pm, Bloor Hot Docs Cinema.