Together
In "Together", Lukas Moodysson takes a mostly light-hearted look at the Swedish political left of the mid-1970s. The movie's mix of comic and dramatic subplots works hard to support a theme, which loosely can be described as debunking the Romance of the Left. While clearly admiring the ideals that these young people embraced fervently, Moodysson has a spot of fun with their excessive theorizing and political rigidity that allowed for little compromise.
Mostly, though, the IFC Films release traffics in nostalgia for a time when people at least believed in something. This is not likely to cause much of a stir among moviegoers too young to remember those days. And among those who do, the film should provoke only mild interest. Nonetheless, Moodysson has now seen two low-budget, no-name movies get released in the United States, which might have fellow European filmmakers wondering what the hell he is doing right.
In his first film as director, 1998's "Show Me Love" (aka "Fucking Amal"), Moodysson allows social observations to spring from a well-defined narrative about young people in a backwater town. In his new film, though, which he wrote as well, he sets up characters and situations more to get across a point of view than to move along a story.
The film takes place in and around the Tillsammans -- Swedish for "Together" -- commune, which occupies a large house in Stockholm. Its members seek solace from the world they collectively wish to revolutionize. Together, they pursue vegetarianism, open sexual relationships, political debate, homosexual experimentation and drink copious amounts of wine in a safely antibourgeois, non-TV environment. Their kids can't always figure out what gives with their strident parents, but they adjust quickly enough, often seemingly having the most fun.
The movie joins the commune at the same time Elisabeth (Lisa Lindgren) does. The sister of its nominal leader, Goran (Gustav Hammarsten), she brings along her two kids, the insecure Stefan (Sam Kessel) and painfully shy Eva (Emma Samuelsson). Elisabeth has joined the commune to escape her drunken, abusive husband Rolf (Michael Nyqvist).
Meanwhile, Goran's girlfriend, Lena (Anja Lundqvist), causes him untold emotional distress with her open sexual pursuit of just about everybody other than Goran. Sarcastic Lasse (Ola Norell) amuses himself by alternately rejecting and tantalizing the gay Klas (Shanti Roney).
At the same time, Lasse's ex-wife Anna (Jessica Liedberg) has become a determined lesbian, inviting nearly every women she meets to her room to "meditate." Across the garden, a next-door neighbor (Therese Brunnander) snoops into the commune's activities as her husband (Claes Hartelius) masturbates over porn magazines in the cellar and their young son, Fredrik (Henrik Lundstrom), becomes pals with the commune's kids.
There are a few brilliant moments of social satire, such as when the kids, picking up clues from the adults' political discussions, play "Pinochet torturing prisoners in Chile" -- complete with simulated electric torture -- and in arguments over the political implications of children's stories like "Pippi Longstocking".
But most of the subplots suffer from lameness, including exaggerated reactions to the introduction of an imperialistic bottle of Coca-Cola into the commune or a debate over hot dogs.
One very weird sequence, when an inebriated Lena appears ready to sexually attack the young boy next door, could possibly have been resisted. And the happy ending feels forced -- but then, much of the film feels forced.
So far, Moodysson has proved an accomplished writer and director of young people including children. But his adult characters often verge on cartoons, as they do here. Still, the young Swede clearly is a director to track as he continues his exploration of Swedish society and its hypocrisies, passions and ironies.
TOGETHER
IFC Films
Memfis Film
Producer: Lars Jonsson
Screenwriter-director: Lukas Moodysson
Director of photography: Ulf Brantas
Production designer: Carl Johan De Geer
Costume designer: Mette Moller
Editors: Michal Leszczylowski, Fredrik Abrahamsen
Color/stereo
Cast:
Elisabeth: Lisa Lindgren
Rolf: Michael Nyqvist
Eva: Emma Samuelsson
Stefan: Sam Kessel
Goran: Gustav Hammarsten
Lena: Anja Lundqvist
Anna: Jessica Liedberg
Lasse: Ola Norell
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Mostly, though, the IFC Films release traffics in nostalgia for a time when people at least believed in something. This is not likely to cause much of a stir among moviegoers too young to remember those days. And among those who do, the film should provoke only mild interest. Nonetheless, Moodysson has now seen two low-budget, no-name movies get released in the United States, which might have fellow European filmmakers wondering what the hell he is doing right.
In his first film as director, 1998's "Show Me Love" (aka "Fucking Amal"), Moodysson allows social observations to spring from a well-defined narrative about young people in a backwater town. In his new film, though, which he wrote as well, he sets up characters and situations more to get across a point of view than to move along a story.
The film takes place in and around the Tillsammans -- Swedish for "Together" -- commune, which occupies a large house in Stockholm. Its members seek solace from the world they collectively wish to revolutionize. Together, they pursue vegetarianism, open sexual relationships, political debate, homosexual experimentation and drink copious amounts of wine in a safely antibourgeois, non-TV environment. Their kids can't always figure out what gives with their strident parents, but they adjust quickly enough, often seemingly having the most fun.
The movie joins the commune at the same time Elisabeth (Lisa Lindgren) does. The sister of its nominal leader, Goran (Gustav Hammarsten), she brings along her two kids, the insecure Stefan (Sam Kessel) and painfully shy Eva (Emma Samuelsson). Elisabeth has joined the commune to escape her drunken, abusive husband Rolf (Michael Nyqvist).
Meanwhile, Goran's girlfriend, Lena (Anja Lundqvist), causes him untold emotional distress with her open sexual pursuit of just about everybody other than Goran. Sarcastic Lasse (Ola Norell) amuses himself by alternately rejecting and tantalizing the gay Klas (Shanti Roney).
At the same time, Lasse's ex-wife Anna (Jessica Liedberg) has become a determined lesbian, inviting nearly every women she meets to her room to "meditate." Across the garden, a next-door neighbor (Therese Brunnander) snoops into the commune's activities as her husband (Claes Hartelius) masturbates over porn magazines in the cellar and their young son, Fredrik (Henrik Lundstrom), becomes pals with the commune's kids.
There are a few brilliant moments of social satire, such as when the kids, picking up clues from the adults' political discussions, play "Pinochet torturing prisoners in Chile" -- complete with simulated electric torture -- and in arguments over the political implications of children's stories like "Pippi Longstocking".
But most of the subplots suffer from lameness, including exaggerated reactions to the introduction of an imperialistic bottle of Coca-Cola into the commune or a debate over hot dogs.
One very weird sequence, when an inebriated Lena appears ready to sexually attack the young boy next door, could possibly have been resisted. And the happy ending feels forced -- but then, much of the film feels forced.
So far, Moodysson has proved an accomplished writer and director of young people including children. But his adult characters often verge on cartoons, as they do here. Still, the young Swede clearly is a director to track as he continues his exploration of Swedish society and its hypocrisies, passions and ironies.
TOGETHER
IFC Films
Memfis Film
Producer: Lars Jonsson
Screenwriter-director: Lukas Moodysson
Director of photography: Ulf Brantas
Production designer: Carl Johan De Geer
Costume designer: Mette Moller
Editors: Michal Leszczylowski, Fredrik Abrahamsen
Color/stereo
Cast:
Elisabeth: Lisa Lindgren
Rolf: Michael Nyqvist
Eva: Emma Samuelsson
Stefan: Sam Kessel
Goran: Gustav Hammarsten
Lena: Anja Lundqvist
Anna: Jessica Liedberg
Lasse: Ola Norell
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 7/8/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Together
In "Together", Lukas Moodysson takes a mostly light-hearted look at the Swedish political left of the mid-1970s. The movie's mix of comic and dramatic subplots works hard to support a theme, which loosely can be described as debunking the Romance of the Left. While clearly admiring the ideals that these young people embraced fervently, Moodysson has a spot of fun with their excessive theorizing and political rigidity that allowed for little compromise.
Mostly, though, the IFC Films release traffics in nostalgia for a time when people at least believed in something. This is not likely to cause much of a stir among moviegoers too young to remember those days. And among those who do, the film should provoke only mild interest. Nonetheless, Moodysson has now seen two low-budget, no-name movies get released in the United States, which might have fellow European filmmakers wondering what the hell he is doing right.
In his first film as director, 1998's "Show Me Love" (aka "Fucking Amal"), Moodysson allows social observations to spring from a well-defined narrative about young people in a backwater town. In his new film, though, which he wrote as well, he sets up characters and situations more to get across a point of view than to move along a story.
The film takes place in and around the Tillsammans -- Swedish for "Together" -- commune, which occupies a large house in Stockholm. Its members seek solace from the world they collectively wish to revolutionize. Together, they pursue vegetarianism, open sexual relationships, political debate, homosexual experimentation and drink copious amounts of wine in a safely antibourgeois, non-TV environment. Their kids can't always figure out what gives with their strident parents, but they adjust quickly enough, often seemingly having the most fun.
The movie joins the commune at the same time Elisabeth (Lisa Lindgren) does. The sister of its nominal leader, Goran (Gustav Hammarsten), she brings along her two kids, the insecure Stefan (Sam Kessel) and painfully shy Eva (Emma Samuelsson). Elisabeth has joined the commune to escape her drunken, abusive husband Rolf (Michael Nyqvist).
Meanwhile, Goran's girlfriend, Lena (Anja Lundqvist), causes him untold emotional distress with her open sexual pursuit of just about everybody other than Goran. Sarcastic Lasse (Ola Norell) amuses himself by alternately rejecting and tantalizing the gay Klas (Shanti Roney).
At the same time, Lasse's ex-wife Anna (Jessica Liedberg) has become a determined lesbian, inviting nearly every women she meets to her room to "meditate." Across the garden, a next-door neighbor (Therese Brunnander) snoops into the commune's activities as her husband (Claes Hartelius) masturbates over porn magazines in the cellar and their young son, Fredrik (Henrik Lundstrom), becomes pals with the commune's kids.
There are a few brilliant moments of social satire, such as when the kids, picking up clues from the adults' political discussions, play "Pinochet torturing prisoners in Chile" -- complete with simulated electric torture -- and in arguments over the political implications of children's stories like "Pippi Longstocking".
But most of the subplots suffer from lameness, including exaggerated reactions to the introduction of an imperialistic bottle of Coca-Cola into the commune or a debate over hot dogs.
One very weird sequence, when an inebriated Lena appears ready to sexually attack the young boy next door, could possibly have been resisted. And the happy ending feels forced -- but then, much of the film feels forced.
So far, Moodysson has proved an accomplished writer and director of young people including children. But his adult characters often verge on cartoons, as they do here. Still, the young Swede clearly is a director to track as he continues his exploration of Swedish society and its hypocrisies, passions and ironies.
TOGETHER
IFC Films
Memfis Film
Producer: Lars Jonsson
Screenwriter-director: Lukas Moodysson
Director of photography: Ulf Brantas
Production designer: Carl Johan De Geer
Costume designer: Mette Moller
Editors: Michal Leszczylowski, Fredrik Abrahamsen
Color/stereo
Cast:
Elisabeth: Lisa Lindgren
Rolf: Michael Nyqvist
Eva: Emma Samuelsson
Stefan: Sam Kessel
Goran: Gustav Hammarsten
Lena: Anja Lundqvist
Anna: Jessica Liedberg
Lasse: Ola Norell
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Mostly, though, the IFC Films release traffics in nostalgia for a time when people at least believed in something. This is not likely to cause much of a stir among moviegoers too young to remember those days. And among those who do, the film should provoke only mild interest. Nonetheless, Moodysson has now seen two low-budget, no-name movies get released in the United States, which might have fellow European filmmakers wondering what the hell he is doing right.
In his first film as director, 1998's "Show Me Love" (aka "Fucking Amal"), Moodysson allows social observations to spring from a well-defined narrative about young people in a backwater town. In his new film, though, which he wrote as well, he sets up characters and situations more to get across a point of view than to move along a story.
The film takes place in and around the Tillsammans -- Swedish for "Together" -- commune, which occupies a large house in Stockholm. Its members seek solace from the world they collectively wish to revolutionize. Together, they pursue vegetarianism, open sexual relationships, political debate, homosexual experimentation and drink copious amounts of wine in a safely antibourgeois, non-TV environment. Their kids can't always figure out what gives with their strident parents, but they adjust quickly enough, often seemingly having the most fun.
The movie joins the commune at the same time Elisabeth (Lisa Lindgren) does. The sister of its nominal leader, Goran (Gustav Hammarsten), she brings along her two kids, the insecure Stefan (Sam Kessel) and painfully shy Eva (Emma Samuelsson). Elisabeth has joined the commune to escape her drunken, abusive husband Rolf (Michael Nyqvist).
Meanwhile, Goran's girlfriend, Lena (Anja Lundqvist), causes him untold emotional distress with her open sexual pursuit of just about everybody other than Goran. Sarcastic Lasse (Ola Norell) amuses himself by alternately rejecting and tantalizing the gay Klas (Shanti Roney).
At the same time, Lasse's ex-wife Anna (Jessica Liedberg) has become a determined lesbian, inviting nearly every women she meets to her room to "meditate." Across the garden, a next-door neighbor (Therese Brunnander) snoops into the commune's activities as her husband (Claes Hartelius) masturbates over porn magazines in the cellar and their young son, Fredrik (Henrik Lundstrom), becomes pals with the commune's kids.
There are a few brilliant moments of social satire, such as when the kids, picking up clues from the adults' political discussions, play "Pinochet torturing prisoners in Chile" -- complete with simulated electric torture -- and in arguments over the political implications of children's stories like "Pippi Longstocking".
But most of the subplots suffer from lameness, including exaggerated reactions to the introduction of an imperialistic bottle of Coca-Cola into the commune or a debate over hot dogs.
One very weird sequence, when an inebriated Lena appears ready to sexually attack the young boy next door, could possibly have been resisted. And the happy ending feels forced -- but then, much of the film feels forced.
So far, Moodysson has proved an accomplished writer and director of young people including children. But his adult characters often verge on cartoons, as they do here. Still, the young Swede clearly is a director to track as he continues his exploration of Swedish society and its hypocrisies, passions and ironies.
TOGETHER
IFC Films
Memfis Film
Producer: Lars Jonsson
Screenwriter-director: Lukas Moodysson
Director of photography: Ulf Brantas
Production designer: Carl Johan De Geer
Costume designer: Mette Moller
Editors: Michal Leszczylowski, Fredrik Abrahamsen
Color/stereo
Cast:
Elisabeth: Lisa Lindgren
Rolf: Michael Nyqvist
Eva: Emma Samuelsson
Stefan: Sam Kessel
Goran: Gustav Hammarsten
Lena: Anja Lundqvist
Anna: Jessica Liedberg
Lasse: Ola Norell
Running time -- 106 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 9/13/2001
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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