Review of Together

Introduction

In Swedish Director Luke Moodysson`s second movie (before subsequent successes `Show me Love` and `Lilya 4-Ever`), he`s managed to produce a gentle but acidic comedy that satirises the commune culture, pretty much on its last legs by the mid 1970`s.

In common with other Moodysson movies the style is very ragged, almost documentary -like, exuding low production value, but nicely counter-balanced with a smart script and a great cast. This is nearer to a BBC `Play for Today` than a block-busting feature, though in the main, despite the Swedish subtitles, it all works splendidly.

The time is 1975 and the location is a Stockholm suburb. Goren is a gentle, patient, bearded man in a tank top who seems to be the patriarch of a commune of misfits that he oversees with unending patience (like the manager of the mental institution in `Little Britain`). In many respects, his commune seems to be idealistically sound, though on closer examination the collective housemates would make even the current season of `Big Brother` seem dull by comparison.

There`s the ultra-cool but ultra-cynical Lasse and his now Lesbian ex-wife Anna - as well as their long-suffering son Tet who, at the age of 8 or 9, has taken to smoking left-over dog-ends and drinking wine to break the monotony of his toy-less existence.

Then there`s gender-bender Klas, determined to get Lasse in the sack - and actually succeeding through convincing rhetoric. And then there`s Goren`s girlfriend Anna - a painfully self-obsessed individual who takes full advantage of her `open relationship` with Goren to bed politico-bore Erik, who only goes along with the idea after she promises to discuss his political ideals with him after they have sex. Then there are the two uptight and self-righteous eco-warriors Signe and Sigaurd. Quite a houseful!

And then the reality of an outside world arrives to upset the peaceful balance in the form of Goren`s sister Elizabeth and her two children, Stefan and Ewa, all running away from an abusive drinking husband/father.

What follows then is a steady implosion - with the children as wise-witnesses to the event (`All adults are idiots!`).

Video

Presented in 16:9 Anamorphic wide-screen, this is a perfectly adequate transfer of a fairly unremarkable picture. But that`s OK - it`s reflecting a gritty realism from some thirty years ago.

Audio

It`s a standard Dolby Digital Stereo Soundtrack (Swedish with English subtitles) and it all works fine, with some nice period music accentuating historical context.

Features

Despite the fairly lively animated menu, there`s actually very little here in the extras department to get excited about. There`s standard scene access as well as an oblique trailer. The only real bonus here is a text based filmography (Moodysson) as well as a text-based interview with the man.

Conclusion

The idea of a Swedish movie offering up some incisive social commentary about the idealised seventies sounds like a very heavy, dryly academic night in. In truth - this movie is far from it, and it`s worth noting that the Swedish language with subtitles hardly seems to get in the way at all.

It may well be a savage attack on the political idealism of commune living hippy types at the fag end of their reign, exposing the underlying hypocrisy of their situation. Even the mild mannered, ultra-patient Goren explodes in seething vitriol at this stark realisation.

From start to finish this clever movie mixes dark observational humour with deep-seated melancholy and, despite its 106-minute duration, it will feel shorter than a one hour TV drama.

Everyone will like the ultimately satisfying ending, and the conclusion that the real heroes of the story are the children, though I`m not sure that this alone will be enough to justify purchase. Get it out as a rental next time you can`t find anything else to fit the bill…