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Plot Summary
Depicting a year in the life of a small town caught in the center of a high profile scandal, “365: A Year in Happy Valley” chronicles the aftermath of the Sandusky trial, following the Penn State and State College community as it moves on from the events of November 2011. Exploring the trial, the behavior of the media, and how the events thrust the community into the national spotlight, this powerful documentary showcases how the school, students, and locals are rising above it all to create a community worth celebrating, showcasing the strength and resolve of those who live in and cherish what is known as “Happy Valley.”
Customer Reviews
A must see!
Don't go into this film with an expectation. Let it unfold. Beautifully shot and thought provoking. It sticks with you long after it's over.
Saw it in the theater!
It’s not what you think. And that’s a good thing.
bizarre, inept, and offensive
This documentary tries to make the case that Joe Paterno was railroaded and that everyone who played a part in his firing is morally in the wrong. There is a bizarre digression about the Amish people who forgave the killer of their daughters. The clear implication is that if we don’t forgive Paterno we are failing to live up to the moral standards of the saintly Amish. In other words, the onus is on us. At the end, a lot of time is giving to some talking head who talks about how if everybody would just forgive and “forget about the past," Happy Valley would be happy again. In other words, there is no need for the community to examine the excessive love of football that led kids to riot in the streets when a coach was fired but not to riot on behalf of victims of child rape. The filmmakers suggest that Paterno didn’t deliberately cover up child abuse. Who says he did? What he did was fail to meet the moral test of ensuring that something got done about the accusations he’d heard. Nowhere in the film is there the barest hint that this in itself was wrong, regardless of whether there was an active cover-up. By all means, one can forgive Paterno, but the filmmakers, not even understanding the basic nature of forgiveness, seem to feel that forgiving means absolving. What they really want is to absolve Paterno of all wrongdoing. Paterno’s statement “I wish I had done more” is celebrated with swelling music. One of his players, over still-swelling music, refers to this statement as a brave act of “standing up,” instead of what it was: the barest minimum acknowledgment of responsibility. To have the film take this bizarre position on Paterno, while sanctimoniously suggesting that viewers are morally wrong if they fail to forgive, is highly offensive.
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