Together (2000 film)

Together (Swedish: Tillsammans) is a Swedish comedy-drama film, which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 25 August 2000.[1] It is Swedish director Lukas Moodysson's second full-length film. Set in a Stockholm commune called "Tillsammans" (Swedish for "Together") in 1975, it is a satirical view of socialist values and a bittersweet comedy.

Together
Theatrical release poster
Directed byLukas Moodysson
Produced byLars Jönsson
Written byLukas Moodysson
StarringLisa Lindgren
Michael Nyqvist
Emma Samuelsson
Sam Kessel
CinematographyUlf Brantås
Distributed bySonet Film
Release date
  • 25 August 2000 (2000-08-25) (Sweden)
Running time
106 minutes
CountrySweden, Denmark, Italy
LanguageSwedish
Budget17,000,000 SEK

Plot summary

Together is set in one of the sharehome communes that was created around Stockholm in the 1970s. Loosely led by the kind-natured Göran, who will do anything to avoid a conflict, the group spend their time arguing about left-wing politics and other more practical issues, such as whether doing the dishes is bourgeois. The sharehome's dynamics are significantly shaken when Göran's sister, Elisabeth, leaves her violent husband Rolf and moves in, bringing her two children Eva and Stefan.

Self-declared lesbian Anna lives in the commune with her ex-husband Lasse and their son Tet (named after the Tet offensive), who befriends Stefan. The two play games such as "torture the Pinochet victim" where, in the spirit of equality, they take turns at being Augusto Pinochet. Eva meanwhile befriends a lonely boy across the street named Fredrik; his family appears conventional on the surface but proves to be even more dysfunctional than the commune of which they so openly disapprove. The children are portrayed as sidelined by everyone in the film, from the new school where they are bullied to the parents who, while genuinely loving, are too busy experimenting with their own freedom to show it.

Elisabeth's husband Rolf makes a concerted effort to clean up his act, although not before getting drunk and arrested, leaving his children stranded on a roadside after a disastrous meal in a Chinese restaurant. Further relationship problems are found with Klas, who is desperately in love with Lasse, and between Göran and his selfish and immature girlfriend, who wants the benefits of an open relationship but not the responsibilities.

Trivia

The character "Birger" (Sten Ljunggren) had previously appeared in another film from the same director. He was played by the same actor as in the short film 'Talk' (Bara prata lite) in 1997.

Selected cast

Development

Although set in Stockholm in eastern Sweden, the film was actually shot in western Sweden, mainly in cities Trollhättan and Gothenburg. Filming began in 27 October 1999 and wrapped 20 December 1999. Artist Carl Johan De Geer created the film's contemporary environments.

Reception

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 90% based on reviews from 79 critics, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads "Managing to be both satirical and warm-hearted in its look at the inhabitants of a commune, Together successfully captures the spirit of a time."[2] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[3]

The New York Times called Together "A funny, graceful and immensely good-natured work",[4] while Salon described it as "The kind of picture that makes you feel that there are many good reasons to actually like mankind."[5]

Soundtrack
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gollark: How is it APIONET's fault?
gollark: I wondered how long it would be before anyone noticed.
gollark: Yes, the OIR™ backend is now locked down™ with advanced HTTP basic authentication.

References
  1. "Tillsammans" (in Swedish). Swedish Film Institute. 25 August 2000. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  2. "Together (2001)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  3. "Together (2001) Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  4. Kehr, Dave (24 August 2001). "FILM IN REVIEW; 'Together'". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  5. Zacharek, Stephanie (28 August 2001). ""Together"". Salon. Salon Media Group. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
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