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Across the Universe | 2007 | PG-13 | - 7.5.5
A musical set during the turbulent 1960s and the Vietnam War and told through many Beatles songs performed by different characters: The story is about a Princeton dropout, his younger sister, and a ship welder from Liverpool who's looking for his father in America. All end up in New York City. With Evan Rachel Wood, Martin Luther, Dana Fuchs, Jim Sturgess and T.V. Carpio. Directed by Julie Taymor. [2:13]
SEX/NUDITY 7 - A nude young woman lies sleeping on a bed (her bare breast and shoulders are visible). Several nude women dance (their bodies are painted to cover some of the detail but breasts and crotches are visible). We see drawings of nude women with bare breasts and genitalia visible but stylized.
► A young man and a young woman lie on a bed, clothed, and caress each other; the scene changes and we see them nude and entwined, caressing and kissing (we see bare limbs, hips, buttocks, legs and no genitalia). We see the bare buttocks of a few young men during physical examinations. Women are shown wearing skimpy outfits that reveal bare abdomens, cleavage and bare backs in a couple of scenes. Young women wear low-cut tops and dresses that reveal cleavage in a few scenes. Many young men are shown in underwear (jockeys and boxers) during an induction center scene). We see a large poster of Brigitte Bardot wearing a deep cut top that reveals cleavage.
► Several woman in skimpy outfits dance on the fire escape of a building (its sign reads "Play House") and in an alley where three of them are picked up by a man in a car (they appear to be prostitutes and he could be their pimp). A young woman wraps herself in a blanket, a young man opens the blanket and they kiss (no nudity is shown).
► A young man and a young woman lie in bed asleep covered with sheets (we see his bare chest and her bare shoulders), another young man enters the room, and it is implied that the two in bed have had sex.
► A young man and a young woman are shown in a car kissing, and he kisses her on the neck. A young man and a young woman dance and kiss, he kisses her neck and they hold each other close. A young man and a young woman kiss in several scenes.
► Men on a truck whistle and make catcalls at young women in cheerleader uniforms (cleavage and bare legs are visible).
► Young men and young women are shown dancing in a few scenes. A man and a woman dance and caress each other and kiss and a song plays with the lyrics, "I want you so bad."
► Two young men react to a woman and call her a "fox." A young man accuses a man of being a seducer of young woman. A young man says that another young man "needs a brothel." We hear the lyrics of several love songs. A young man talks about someone threatening to paint his genitalia with shoe polish.
► A young man leaves his home in Liverpool to find his father in the U.S. -- he was a soldier who met the young man's mother and she became pregnant unbeknownst to the soldier who left and did not maintain communication with her.
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VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - We see people rioting in a city, buildings explode, cars burn, windows break, police arrest people, and a man is shot through the back (we see a hole open in his chest and blood spurts). There are several war scenes that show combat with bombs exploding, people being shot, etc.; one shows a soldier being shot (blood sprays) and the terror on the faces of soldiers around him.
► Police break up a protest: we see people being struck with clubs and we see people with bloody heads and faces. People are rousted out of a protest by police; we see a young man being struck by the butt of a gun and others being handled violently. A young man shoves a man and punches him in the face (we see his bloody nose).
► We see a boy's body in a coffin and people grieve at the funeral. A woman is notified that her son has been killed in war, and she collapses and cries (we see people grieving at a funeral later).
► A young man is caught in a firefight in combat and we see him in a hospital later with a bandage on his head.
► A woman has a bruised eye and we are told that her boyfriend struck her. A man steps into a street and is nearly struck by a cab. A young man strikes a golf ball off a tee in another young man's mouth (there's no injury). Several young men slide down a long banister and fall onto a marble floor below (no one appears injured). Young men on a football field are thrown and struck hard during a practice.
► Young men are chased by other young men and one hides. Young men swing at golf balls on a rooftop and break windows in a building across a courtyard. A young man runs through a college campus, bumping into people and dropping his papers and books.
► We hear reports of the assassination of Martin Luther King. We hear a report that several men died in an explosion while building bombs. We hear news reports of soldiers dying in Vietnam. A family argues about a young man's future and what he will do if he drops out of college. A young woman makes a remark about people "raping and pillaging." A woman makes a comment about two young men being trustworthy although, "you could have murdered your granny with a hammer." A young woman talks about the white men "slaughtering the Indians." A young man talks about someone threatening to paint his genitalia with shoe polish.
► We see a stream of urine spraying into a glass collection container.
LANGUAGE 5 - 1 F-word, 5 sexual remarks, 12 scatological terms, 4 anatomical terms, 10 mild obscenities, 2 derogatory terms for homosexuals, name-calling (promiscuous drug fiends, bugger), 2 religious profanities, 2 religious exclamations.
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Regret, youth, the Vietnam war, love, adventure, racism, the assassination of Martin Luther King, death of a child, freedom, patriotic duty, success, bravery, heroism, death of a loved one, friendship, narcissism, leaving home, hate, dropping out of college, privilege, young people going to war, adventure, military draft, deportation, heartbreak, dreams, life choices, Imperialism, jealousy, soldiers parenting children while on shore leave.
MESSAGE - Love can survive many things.
CAVEATS
Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.
We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.
Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.
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