Commune (documentary)
Encyclopedia
Commune is a 2005 documentary film
by Jonathan Berman. The film is about an intentional community
located in Siskiyou County, California called Black Bear Ranch
and features narration by Peter Coyote
who himself once resided at Black Bear.
. Metacritic
lists Commune with a score of 74 out of 100.
Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide
pronounced it "A close examination of a quintessential '60s phenomenon that speaks volumes about the attitudes and experiences that shaped the decade...captivating. Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com
said "Amid the dozens of documentaries made about various aspects of '60s society and culture, "Commune" stands out for its ambiguity, honesty and sheer human clarity...an extraordinary collage."
A New York Times review, titled "Just a Hardy Bunch of Settlers Who Left America and Moved to California", described the commune veterans: "However weatherbeaten they appear, they still have a light in their eyes, and they exude the hardy spirit of pioneers who are older and wiser but unbowed," adding that they look back with "pride, amusement, and sadness." Another review, in the New York Sun
, provides more specifics on a fundraising technique one former member called "emotional blackmail," claiming that the $22,000 initial land purchase was acquired by pitching rock musicians that they were "making money off our lifestyle and that it was time for them to give something back."
The San Francisco Chronicle
, The Village Voice
, and Variety
all gave the film positive reviews.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
by Jonathan Berman. The film is about an intentional community
Intentional community
An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They...
located in Siskiyou County, California called Black Bear Ranch
Black Bear Ranch
Black Bear Ranch is an 80-acre intentional community located in Siskiyou County, California, founded in 1968, with the slogan "free land for free people"...
and features narration by Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar...
who himself once resided at Black Bear.
Reception
Commune was well received with a score of 95% fresh at Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
lists Commune with a score of 74 out of 100.
Maitland McDonagh of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
pronounced it "A close examination of a quintessential '60s phenomenon that speaks volumes about the attitudes and experiences that shaped the decade...captivating. Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
said "Amid the dozens of documentaries made about various aspects of '60s society and culture, "Commune" stands out for its ambiguity, honesty and sheer human clarity...an extraordinary collage."
A New York Times review, titled "Just a Hardy Bunch of Settlers Who Left America and Moved to California", described the commune veterans: "However weatherbeaten they appear, they still have a light in their eyes, and they exude the hardy spirit of pioneers who are older and wiser but unbowed," adding that they look back with "pride, amusement, and sadness." Another review, in the New York Sun
New York Sun
The New York Sun was a weekday daily newspaper published in New York City from 2002 to 2008. When it debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of an otherwise unrelated earlier New York paper, The Sun , it became the first general-interest broadsheet newspaper to be started...
, provides more specifics on a fundraising technique one former member called "emotional blackmail," claiming that the $22,000 initial land purchase was acquired by pitching rock musicians that they were "making money off our lifestyle and that it was time for them to give something back."
The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, and Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
all gave the film positive reviews.