Across the Universe

From the beginning of the movie, Jude (Jim Sturgess) captures your heart as he sits alone on the beach and begins to tell you the story of the girl he loved through the Beatles' song, "Girl." The images of newspaper clips, expressive faces and definitive scenes that follow give you an amazing insight into the story that is about to be told.

Through the heartfelt lyrics of the Beatles, Across the Universe, tells the personal story of Jude and his friends and the revolutionary time that the nation went through. Director Julie Taymor is able to bring to life the emotions felt during that generation and stay true to the Beatles message. The songs, changing tempo through scenes, and the amazing, sometimes psychedelic scenes, portray a story of love and despair that the generation of the '60s went through.

Jude's search for his father takes him to America where he instead finds and befriends Max (Joe Anderson). Quickly, Max introduces him to the American tradition of Thanksgiving and takes him home, where he meets his sister, Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood). Little to Jude's knowledge, his trip to America came at a tumultuous time, as a new generation began to take over the culture. In an effort to find themselves, all roads lead to New York. Jude and Max rent a room from housemother Sadie (Dana Fuchs). Excitement, love, and an urgency to explore life are felt in their new home, along with their roommates, Asian-American Prudence (T.V. Carpio) and African-American JoJo (Martin Luther McCoy).

After Lucy's high school sweetheart is killed in the Army, she too finds herself in New York, learning to look at the world in a new way. She quickly becomes involved in the anti-war movement after Max is drafted. In a remarkable scene, "I Want You (She