1969 (1988)

War in Vietnam is raging, and two old friends from high school are determined to avoid the violence going on overseas. Robert Downey Jr. and Kruger Sutherland give sincere performances in this period drama that was not only the age of Aquarius, but the age of liberation. Women's, blacks, gays. All fighting for their piece of the pie that 200 years of American civil liberties had not really given them. If the rock and roll era of the late 1950's set up the possibility for drastic change, it was the fed-up youth of this era that put real change in motion whether traditional American society wanted it or not. Now nearly 50 years later, the participants of all of the events which took place are grandparents, sharing their stories as society morphs into new ideals. Of course, you couldn't have a movie about this era without the music which is touching my utilized to dramatize everything going on. Generation gaps, difference in political leanings and all sorts of rebellion are seen, through a political rally that ends in violence, a high school graduation speech touching on fears for the future (delivered by Winona Ryder as Downey's younger sister), an LSD overdose and most poignantly, the fears and resentments between Sutherland and his older brother who goes off to Vietnam.The adults seem real here, not cartoon characters or stereotypical squares just outraged by their children's behavior. It's obvious that parents had more fears than their children did, most likely having seen the horrors of the second World War which was supposed to be the last one. Bruce Dern tries to be understanding, but his character, obviously raised to be 100% patriotic, sees it all falling apart all around him. Mariette Hartley, as his wife, runs along side her soldier son's bus, screaming to him in a very tearful moment, "Don't die!" over and over again. Joanna Cassidy is Downey's mom, having a panic attack when he goes into shock following an LSD overdose.Ernest Thompson, the author and director of "On Golden Pond", tells a warm and often funny story here, poignant and real. The brief presence of a gay character who picks both Downey and Sutherland up isn't gratuitous or homophobic, but simply a reflection of the times that showed the anger and relief that went beyond the era of the flower power. With a Maryland setting rather than big city, this gives its perspective that this hit an entire country, not just urban America.Having wanted to see this for years and somehow missed it, I was not disappointed. It is obvious as to why Downey, Sutherland and Ryder went onto great success, even having their share of self-discovery. The generation gap my have been a serious issue, but it has probably lead to a deeper understanding between the estranged generations when the next one grew up and followed even more into rebellion than this one. This is what makes thus movie so timeless because it reflects changes in history that affect everything, including the future.

I watched this film thinking it might be a departure from the usual stereotypical hippie-consciousness tome, but it seems as if the movie industry is bound and determined to rewrite the past by churning out enough newspeak to cover the truth as they possibly can, even if they have to use top shelf actors to do it. What surprises me is that this ensemble consists of people who could have afforded to "just say no" at their respective career levels, because they were already established and had a reputation as accomplished professionals with some measure of scruples.But they didn't. They drank the Kool-Aid, and now the producer and director expects us to take the cup.Well, I wont drink, because I grew up during that era.Everything in this film misses the mark, even Winona Ryder's speech, which is supposed to be a culminating moment where she is supposed to make the "squares" and conservative pro-war folks in the audience take a deeper look into the real meaning of the war. What we get is the usual pap lines like "are we fighting to win?", instead of "what are we winning".The film divides the groups of people into neat little boxes marked "hippies" and "squares" when in reality those lines were somewhat blurry. There were plenty of longhairs who were hardworking folks who felt like they were a part of society, even if they weren't square. Hippies didn't believe in money, material possessions or being a part of society. The slogan was "Tune in, turn on and drop out", and many longhairs didn't believe in that slogan. Most hippies were as misinformed about the war as everyone else in 1969. It took an intellectual thrust to clearly define the immoral and illegal nature of the War in Vietnam and the plain truth is that most of the hippies were simply too stoned to bother doing any heavy thinking. Another disappointment, the complete denial of the fact that the anti-war movement was consistently and successfully infiltrated by communists and CIA operatives, something totally overlooked in the movie. Good and honest people were compromised in 1969, and lives were destroyed by the very government that sent our children to fight and die. The intellectual class knew that the government was fighting the war both at home and abroad, and the effort by the intelligentsia to expose this sham was ground under the boot of government oppression and disinformation. This was the crux of student rebellion against the war.It is an insult to condense the complex issues of the time into a feel-good afternoon matinée, and no attempt to justify this film's existence will satisfy the demand that ANY movie on this subject pay respect to honesty, because with honesty sacrificed on the altar of good intentions and entertainment, you have nothing left to learn from 1969 and therefore no basis for a movie at all at that point, unless your only intention is to misinform, which is something that this movie does rather well.

i can see why some people dislike this movie, but i enjoyed it.good stuff: music (CSNY, Canned Heat, Creedence), costumes, subject, issues dealt with, cast! young Winona, Keifer & Robert Downey Jr., plus the van and cars, conflict btwn generationsbad stuff: melodramatic, simplistic, like a TV movie or Walt Disney.there was a 1999 'mini-series' (2-part) on cbs i think that was a lot like this. ie; it's more a TV movie than an Easy Rider or Platoon. If you go in with the 'TV' mindset i'm sure you'll enjoy it if you like this subject and/or era -- the Vietnam War and its effects on American families. i only knew of this era thru documentaries and books, but living in America in 2003, there are real war-tearing familial similarities that are only likely to get more exaggerated. seeing a portrayal, even a 'TV movie' version, just helps a little bit.

This is a very strange movie but not in a very bad way.Some of the acting is poor and could have been much better.I liked most of the movie but the story is off the road and rather "drunk".1969 is a good movie to view by yourself.A lot of 80's films such as this one are corny but good at the same time.