“GIDEON’S Army” does what the best documentaries have always done: It makes us think about something we’d rather not. The “Gideon” here isn’t the trumpet player from the Old Testament.

The Israelites then said to Gideon, “Rule over us — you, your son, and your son’s son — for you saved us from the power of Midian.” But Gideon answered them, “I will not rule over you ...