The Year That Trembled (2002)

The Year That Trembled is a 1970 coming-of-age story set in the shadow of Kent State that focuses on a group of young characters facing the Vietnam Draft Lottery.

Director:

Jay Craven

Writers:

Jay Craven, Hathalee Higgs (additional writer),

Stars:

Jonathan Brandis, Charlie Finn, Jay R. Ferguson

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jonathan Brandis	...	Casey Pedersen
Charlie Finn	...	Jim 'Hairball' Morton
Jay R. Ferguson	...	Isaac Hoskins
Meredith Monroe	...	Judy Woods
Matt Salinger	...	Professor Jeff Griggs
Erik Jensen	...	Todd Franklin
Sascha Stanton Craven	...	Bill Clark (as Sascha Stanton-Craven)
Marin Hinkle	...	Helen Kerrigan
Fred Willard	...	Frank Woods
Sean Nelson	...	Phil Robbins
T.J. Hellmuth	...	Carl Bumpers
Jay Michael Ferguson	...	Col. Mike Newman
Jonathan M. Woodward	...	Charlie Kerrigan
Henry Gibson	...	Ralph Tyler
Martin Mull	...	Wayne Simonelli

Storyline

The Year That Trembled is a 1970 coming-of-age story set in the shadow of Kent State that focuses on a group of young characters facing the Vietnam Draft Lottery.

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Plot Keywords:

vietnam | lottery | 1970s | coming of age | protest | 

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Taglines:

When passions ignited a nation. When choices became a matter of life and death.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Novel City Pictures, Ltd [us]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 March 2002 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Garrettsville, Ohio, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Evans Printing Co., Gamekeepers Taverns, Lodges and Inns, Novel City Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Not unlike sitting through back-to-back episodes of American Dreams...with less energy

Important depiction of a time arguably as turbulent as our current. However, links (or even intimations of them) from past to present are lacking in this film. A faded standalone snapshot, the mood unimpassioned, (ironic given the manic, "trembling" tenor of those times). No room is made or left over for extrapolation or lessons learned--a great opportunity missed. Instead we're dished up startlingly superficial and hackneyed treatment of the era, ineffective character development, and lackluster performances from most of the cast. Further, the film is riddled with anachronisms and suffers from romanticism and historical revisionism--so it comes off as shallow and clichéd. Perhaps this film was made by people too young to understand the flavor of those times. If not, perhaps the filmmakers are part of a well-meaning but removed elite, who took their very best shot at depicting the lives and dramas of their characters, but the closest they could come was creating an approximated, somewhat patronizing, overly polite, "as-if" characterization--which naturally lacks passion, flow, human depth and complexity, and realism. In sum, it's like watching back to back episodes of the mundane NBC drama "American Dreams" (albeit, with a more liberal lean, fortunately), without the energy level. Just about that insightful, realistic, and compelling. In sum, clearly an earnest effort, tho emotionally blunted overall.