1969 Plot

1969 is a 1988 drama film starring Robert Downey Jr., Kiefer Sutherland, and Winona Ryder. It was written and directed by Ernest Thompson. The original music score is composed by Michael Small.
In 1969, two best friends, Ralph Karr and Scott Denny live in a stuffy, upper-middle class suburban town in Maryland at the offset of the Vietnam war, and are both in college. While Scott's brother Alden enlists, he and Ralph are outspoken in their opposition to the war. Scott's attitude alienates him from his father Cliff and he and Ralph decide to spend the summer on the road, living out of their van and experiencing all the freedom the counterculture has to offer. Various events lead them back to town where they learn of the death of Alden. This event proves to be the catalyst needed to bridge the gap between father and son and enlightens them both to the true cost of the war.