Together
Screening: 3 February 2003
Sweden 2001 (subtitles)
107 minutes
Directed by Lukas Moodysson
Leading players - Lisa Lindgren, Michael Nyqvist, Gustaf Hammarsten.
Synopsis
Unhappy suburban wife Elisabeth (Lisa Lindgren) decides to leave her hard-drinking husband Rolf (Michael Nyqvist) and takes her two children to live with her brother Göran (Gustaf Hammarsten). But this is 1970s Sweden and Rolf’s home is a commune - Together.Elisabeth’s arrival in the commune is the catalyst for change both for herself and the commune’s members as she struggles to reconcile their liberal ideas with her own. Her children, 10-year-old Stefan (Sam Kessel) and 13-year-old Eva (Emma Samuelsson) also have problems adapting to their new lifestyle. Meanwhile, the abandoned Rolf has to decide what to do with his life as he faces up to the prospect of a lonely future.
* * * * * *
This is Lukas Moodysson’s second film and in it he deftly draws together a patchwork of characters, each with a story of their own, around the main participants. Although some may be caricatures Moodysson genuinely feels for these people and, balancing comedy with pathos, he builds towards a final resolution which even the most cynical of movie-goers can enjoy.The film is finely acted by all the cast and the supporting music is a clever blend of Abba’s S.O.S. and traditional Swedish music.
