The Messenger

(2009)

In post-war London, Viv Pearce is dating Reggie and runs a dating bureau with Helen Giniver, who lives with her older lover, authoress Julia Standing. Viv's younger brother Duncan, a gay man made to feel ashamed of his orientation, has been in prison and is sought out by his ex-cell-mate, Robert Fraser, who served time as a conscientious objector and is now concerned for the young man's welfare. Viv encounters Kay Langrish, a wealthy, reclusive, butch lesbian and for both women this evokes memories of the period three years earlier (1944) when Kay was an heroic ambulance driver in a happy, loving relationship with Helen -- before Kay introduced her to her ex-lover Julia. At that time, Viv and Reggie are forced to procure the services of a dentist moonlighting as an abortionist. About to die from blood loss, and having been abandoned by Reggie, Kay saves her from prosecution by claiming she was a married woman who had miscarried. Three years before that (1941) Kay and Julia are still an item and Viv meets unhappily married soldier Reggie on a train. Kay pulls Helen from the wreckage of a bombed house, finding the innocent young woman she has always wanted to love and care for. We also learn the gruesome details of why Duncan was in prison, which follows a suicide pact with the boy he loved, in response to the war and the draft. As the scene returns to 1947 there are happier endings for some and optimist outlooks for others as they move forward.

At a U.S. Army base in 1941 Hawaii, a pugilistic private is cruelly punished for refusing to join his unit's boxing team. Meanwhile, his commanding officer's wife and top NCO are indulging in a torrid love affair.

Two feisty, free-spirited women are connected by the brilliant, charismatic poet who loves them both.

The story of a long-lost book that mysteriously reappears and connects an old man searching for his son with a girl seeking a cure for her mother's loneliness.

Agathe von Trapp, the eldest daughter of a well-known musical family, overcomes many obstacles to pursue her musical career and move to the United States.

On the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.

An affair between the second in line to Britain's throne and the princess of the feuding Irish spells doom for the young lovers.

A young British officer resigns his commission just before his regiment is sent to battle and soon receives four white feathers from his friends and fiancee as symbols of what they view as his cowardice.

Stig, a 15-year-old student, is attracted to the beauty of Viola, his 37-year-old teacher, and she, drawn to his youth and innocence, feels that he is a God-sent relief for her drunken and miserable husband.

The inspiring love story of Joseph Bau, artist, forger, holocaust survivor. Using his artistic skills, humor and hope in the camps, Joseph stays alive and helps hundreds to escape. Miraculously, he finds love in the midst of despair.