Julie Taymor's wonderful Across The Universe is a unique, enthralling trip through the turbulence of the 1960's using the music of the Beatles as a time machine. It is inventive and daring, and I remain stunned by some of the pedestrian reviews this film has received.

At its heart, this film, via its marvelous collection of young actors, celebrates the lost hope of a generation whose dreams died in the ashes of assassinations, the Vietnam War and the appalling reality of the Nixon Administration. While we all now know that the idealism of the 60's never had a chance, how inspiring it is to see its youthful incandescence burn so brightly.

Adding to the splendor of this film is that the actors did all of their own singing. Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson and the incredibly sensual Dana Fuchs form an ensemble cast that is impossible not to love. They create an emotional tale that is meant to be felt as much as it is to be seen.

Finally, this movie demonstrates why so many of us take offense at conservative commentators and their talk show lapdogs who try to write-off the generation of the 1960's as selfish hedonists living by the singular credo of -If it feels good, do it.- To the contrary, those of us who came of age in the 60's know it for what it was: A decade that began with the assassination of J.F.K. and ended with the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy; a time when our own government was engaged in a conscious fraud that sent over 50,000 -Just feel good…do it- kids to their grave in Vietnam; a decade ending with a presidency of Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew that made a mockery of the open, democratic process.

The anger and escapism of the 60's was never an end in itself, but only a reaction to, and protest of, a society and government that, in the words of John Dean, suffered from a -cancer.- This movie lovingly recreates that turbulent era, and ends perfectly with Sturgess and Woods staring at each other from adjoining rooftops. The 60's brought all of us hope, and that's what I still feel good about.