Unfolding over three days of intense heat and non-stop performances, Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage examines how the festival eventually collapsed under the weight of its own misguided ambition and resulted in a grim outcome, earning the event the infamous distinction of “the day the nineties died.” The documentary focuses a spotlight on American youth at the end of the millennium, in the shadow of Columbine and the looming hysteria of Y2K, pinpointing a moment in time when the angst of a generation galvanized into a seismic cultural shift. Set to a soundtrack of the era’s most aggressive rock bands, the film also reappraises the 1960s mythos, revealing hard truths about the dangers of rose-tinted nostalgia in the age of commercialism and bottom-line profits.
