Together

The second feature from Lukas Moodysson , who directed the internationally acclaimed Fucking Åmål , Tilsammans is the tale of life on a Stockholm commune in the mid-'70s. After suffering more than her share of abuse from her husband Rolf ( Mikael Nykvist ), Elisabeth ( Lisa Lindgren ) takes her two children Stefan ( Sam Kessel ) and Eva ( Emma Samuelsson ) to a commune run by her brother Goran ( Gustaf Hammarsten ). Life at the commune is crowded with people and with laid-back attitudes towards sex, nudity, and recreational drug use, prompting plenty of political debate. Goran's partner Lena ( Anja Lundqvist ) is a particular proponent of free-spirited bed-hopping, something Goran doesn't really like but tolerates. Lena duly gets involved with the rebellious Erik ( Olle Sarri ) and finds fulfillment in the form of her first orgasm, something that leads her to confess to Goran that she was always faking it with him. Meanwhile, various dramas are at work amongst the other commune members, including the once-married Lasse ( Ola Norell ) and Anna ( Jessica Liedberg ) (who split up when Anna announced she was a lesbian) and Klas ( Shanti Roney ), whose advances to Lasse are continually rebuffed. The goings-on of the commune are observed and commented on by a pair of neighbors, Margit ( Therese Brunnander ) and Ragner ( Claes Hartelius ), whose marriage is so lackluster that Ragner masturbates compulsively. Their son, the fat and miserable Fredrik ( Henrik Lundstrom ), befriends Elisabeth's daughter Eva, who longs to have a family again. When Rolf appears on the scene seeking reconciliation, it seems she may get her wish. — Rebecca Flint