Taking Woodstock

This was easily one of my favorite films of 2009. Based on the memoirs of Elliot Tiber, the title of this comedy says it all - "Taking ...stock". That is what the main characters do. That is what our generation was doing at the time of Woodstock. That is what the music was about. Everyone was taking stock. They were re-evaluating the ideals of loyalty, love, commerce, beauty, lifestyle, everything! They dreamed a better world.
And, ironically, every step of the way, Woodstock was about making money. It is the secret we don't acknowledge when we think about that era. It is the darkest secret of the Teischberg family we follow through the biggest event of their lives. The stock of Woodstock was not just the music, but the hope of young people in 1969 for a better world. And smart people were able to make a fortune with it.
Kudos to Ang Lee for letting us experience, just for a brief moment, the love and hope that brought us together in that era. I had the privilege of sitting in an audience of older people. They seemed to be 55 - 70 years old. I wondered why they might be interested in this film about youthful lust for life and grand expectations. Then the feet started tapping, the heads nodding, an occasional uh-huh escaped from the movie enthusiasts. I heard a man's voice behind me say: "I was there", and I realized that I was surrounded by this same generation of people I was watching on screen. I wondered what they had really hoped for then, whether they lived their lives with certain ideals in mind, and how their fortunes had panned out. I wondered if they were disappointed. And I was grateful I could be there with them, once again, experiencing Woodstock.
Taking Woodstock is directed by Ang Lee.