COMING OUT UNDER FIRE' A TOP-DRAWER DOCUMENTARY

 Coming Out Under Fire (Documentary/B&W/16mm, 70 minutes)
    By Emanuel Levy
    HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Arthur Dong's powerful documentary, ``Coming Out
Under Fire," informs the current debate over gays and lesbians in the
military by viewing the issue from a historical perspective.
    By focusing on undaunted homosexuals who served as soldiers in World
War II, the film provides some context for President Clinton's 1993 effort
to lift the ban on gays in the military and the ongoing national debate.
    Many viewers may want to see this timely, informative, technically
accomplished documentary in theaters before it's shown on public TV and
other venues.
    The fascinating documentary is based on the acclaimed 1990 book
``Coming Out Under Fire: The History of Gay Men and Women in World War
II," by Allan Berube, who served here as historian and co-writer.
    Director and co-writer Dong masterfully interweaves the tales of nine
courageous men and women, all sharing in detail their personal memories of
daily military life.
    ``They made you lie," says one man. ``They made you live an invisible
life." Indeed, ``don't ask, don't tell" became by necessity the motto of
patriotic homosexuals.
    Despite their varied backgrounds, motivations to join the war effort
and military careers, the stories are united by the individuals' strength
and willingness to serve the country in the face of oppression and
humiliating treatment.
    The documentary shows that the military proved most resourceful in its
methods, subjecting known gays and lesbians to dehumanizing
interrogations, medical examinations, incarceration in ``queer stockades"
and hospitals for the criminal and mentally insane, and stigmatization as
``sex perverts."
    Although the picture's overall tone is serious and investigative, it
also contains compelling personal stories that make it riveting to watch
and even entertaining.
    Some talk about how they devised subtle ways to identify other gays
and communicate through newsletters that used campy Dorothy Parker lingo;
one publication was called Myrtle Bitch; a former WAC fondly recalls her
infatuation and first romance with another woman.
    Being black and gay was a ``double whammy," one member mournfully
testifies.
    Director Dong, who made the 1983 Oscar-nominated ``Sewing Woman," a
touching portrait of his mother's emigration from China to the U.S.,
properly balances his work between serio, matter-of-fact illumination of a
shameful chapter in American history and lighter, though sensitive
treatment of the human stories.
    Framing the documentary are dramatic scenes from the 1993 Senate
hearings, which expose how the American government continues to perpetuate
and reaffirm its ideology -- and practice -- of discriminating against
homosexual soldiers.
    This contemporary evidence lends greater poignancy to the numerous
cases of dishonorable discharge of valiant homosexuals.
    Technical credits are first-rate, particularly Stephen Lighthill's
polished lensing and Veronica Selver's seamless editing of invaluable
archival footage of medical examinations, psychiatric sessions, sex
education lectures, statistics and interviews.
    Deservedly cited by the Sundance jury for its technical distinction,
``Coming Out Under Fire" is accomplished and satisfying emotionally and
politically.
    Narrator: Salome Jens.
    A Deep Focus production. Produced, directed by Arthur Dong. Written by
Allan Berube, Dong, based of Berube's book. Camera (B&W), Stephen
Lighthill;  editor, Veronica Selver; music, Mark Adler; sound, Lauretta
Molitor.
 Reuter/Variety

































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