The Year That Trembled

Rating:
Summary: lol this movie really sucks
Review: I think first of all it was whack actors and actresses in this film. I personally think the whole movie was crazy. It did not satisfy me at all. I think it could have been alot of better actors and actresses. Please leave the acting to someone else.

Rating:
Summary: More like "The Film that Stumbled"....
Review: The significance of Kent State begs that a serious film be made chronicling that event---this is not that film. Rather, I found myself wondering if "The Year that Trembled" was a student film project, the script often breaking down into amateurish muddles and clumsy dialogue.

Issac, the undercover FBI character was a complete confusion of motives and suggested unintended multiple personalities. Clips of Bobby Kennedy and MLK are injected into the middle of the film to substantiate the popular call for a lottery based Draft----but the year is 1970 and both of those icons died in 1968, producing a momentary non sequitur.

And then there is Martin Mull as a lead FBI agent---Martin Mull as an FBI agent? Pleeeese! Martin Mull, at one point, allows to his friend played by Fred Willard, that sure, at an earlier age he had had long hair and smoke some weed. But looking at an aging Mull, when did this occur? In the early 1950's? Perhaps this was just a "Fernwood Tonight" gag the two actors nostalgically threw into the film.

The DVD jacket states that the film is "punctuated by 17 songs from the era," and in fact the song titles are listed in the credits. But, I have no recollection of my viewing experience being punctuated by any authentic music selections. A little Buffalo Springfield would have been a nice touch.

This is a pretty thin effort. However, if it was in fact, a high school film project, then I would be more charitable in my assessment.

Rating:
Summary: More like "The Film that Stumbled"....
Review: The significance of Kent State begs that a serious film be made chronicling that event---this is not that film. Rather, I found myself wondering if "The Year that Trembled" was a student film project, the script often breaking down into amateurish muddles and clumsy dialogue.

Issac, the undercover FBI character was a complete confusion of motives and suggested unintended multiple personalities. Clips of Bobby Kennedy and MLK are injected into the middle of the film to substantiate the popular call for a lottery based Draft----but the year is 1970 and both of those icons died in 1968, producing a momentary non sequitur.

And then there is Martin Mull as a lead FBI agent---Martin Mull as an FBI agent? Pleeeese! Martin Mull, at one point, allows to his friend played by Fred Willard, that sure, at an earlier age he had had long hair and smoke some weed. But looking at an aging Mull, when did this occur? In the early 1950's? Perhaps this was just a "Fernwood Tonight" gag the two actors nostalgically threw into the film.

The DVD jacket states that the film is "punctuated by 17 songs from the era," and in fact the song titles are listed in the credits. But, I have no recollection of my viewing experience being punctuated by any authentic music selections. A little Buffalo Springfield would have been a nice touch.

This is a pretty thin effort. However, if it was in fact, a high school film project, then I would be more charitable in my assessment.

Rating:
Summary: A "Must see" the translates well to what's happening today
Review: The writer's passions show through in this great novel's screenplay adaptation. It is great to see that literary artists are still out there writing from the heart, not trying to create something strictly for salability to Hollywood and the public.

If you want a "thinking person's" movie you will be satisfied. This can be as deep as you want it to be and those who can remember that time will surely have old feelings stirred and the current generation will get insight into what their parents felt and how controversial a time it was.

Made me take stock in my own life and served as a reminder of how precious life is and how valuable friendship can and should be! Make it a part of your library and flag it for annual viewing! Check out the original Novel as well!

Rating:
Summary: The way it kinda was
Review: War protests, Vietnam, Kent State. This Indie film tries to capture the time through actual footage of the events taking place and through the eyes of young men facing the scariest rite of reaching manhood - the draft - and almost succeeds. Deduct points for the whole thing being too clean and pretty. It wasn't either.
The acting ranges from awful to outstanding, but the stiffness of the younger cast members improves as the movie progresses, especially in scenes with veterans like Fred Willard, Martin Mull and Henry Gibson onscreen to steady them down. Marian Hinkle is quite good as the teacher who is fired for her anti-war sentiments. Even better, is Jonathan M. Woodward as her husband, a decent guy who is systematically betrayed by his government, his employer and his wife. Although not one of the stars, Woodward's performance carries the film, and it is a mystery why his name doesn't appear on the front cover of the DVD at all. Bill Raymond is also excellent as a bitter disabled vet who offers practical, if not legal, advice to the young men, and it's a shame he isn't seen more.
Biggest letdown comes when the life-shattering effects of dodging the draft are reduced to a happy ride to Canada on a motor scooter and the decent guy pays the price for doing the right thing, but since sympathy in the film lies with the dodgers and not the men who did their service, this is not surprising.
The DVD has no extra features, and no commentary, which is unfortunate, because you really will wonder what they were thinking when they shot certain scenes.

Remember it's a low-budget, independent film, so don't expect too much - see it for its great moments, forgive it for its flaws.