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The Commune

Play trailer 2:39 Poster for The Commune 2017 1h 52m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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71% Tomatometer 92 Reviews 60% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Personal desires clash with solidarity and tolerance in a Danish commune.
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The Commune

The Commune

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Critics Consensus

The Commune may not stand with Thomas Vinterberg's greatest work, but the end results remain thought-provoking and overall absorbing.

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Critics Reviews

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J. R. Jones Chicago Reader 07/13/2017
The Commune turns out to be a fairly predictable exercise in neoliberal backlash, as a bunch of free-love radicals crash on the rocks of their own enlightenment. Go to Full Review
Pat Padua Washington Post 05/25/2017
3/4
Dyrholm ... movingly captures the struggles of a middle-aged career woman who revels in the new freedoms of the 1970s, while ultimately falling victim to them. Go to Full Review
Marjorie Baumgarten Austin Chronicle 05/25/2017
Trine Dyrholm delivers a powerful performance as Anna, a woman whose heart won't align with her head, as does Ulrich Thomsen as the testy Erik. Go to Full Review
David Lamble Bay Area Reporter 06/08/2020
Shows how tricky this idea is to pull off, even in a society consistently rated one of the happiest in the world. Go to Full Review
Jorge Ignacio Castillo The Canadian Crew 01/28/2020
3.5/5
The Danish keep on killing it at finding new angles in family dramas. In The Commune, we see a marriage fall apart as they try to assimilate the new limits of personal freedom during the swinging 70s. Go to Full Review
Daniel Barnes Dare Daniel 03/29/2019
2.5/5
A weightless and unworthy drama about Copenhagen communal living in the 1970s. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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isla s 09/03/2022 This is quite a slow burner, plot pace wise. Its mostly about family dynamics and trust. It took a while for me to feel especially interested in the characters but I thought it was somewhat of a powerful watch by the time it headed towards the end and I would say it may make you think. If your not keen on character focussed dramas then this won't be for you. Also of course you likely have to rely on the subtitles, as its in Danish, although I was pleased to see that the subtitles were quite large in terms of text size, compared to other films with smaller subtitles, so if anything it was slightly less of an issue than it might have been. I felt sorry for the wife Anna and I did find myself wondering what might happen next, as things moved on plot wise but it is, as I say, a relatively slow burner, so don't expect fast paced action or anything of that sort. Its a reasonably intriguing watch and overall I suppose I'd say its a good watch, hence my rating. See more 04/16/2021 It was never going to work out was it. See more 07/09/2020 Trine Dyrholm delivers a stunning, sensitive and vulnerable performance and a deeply moving portrait of a woman pushed to the side by her long term partner yet. It completely delivers on the commune experience in Hellerup in the 1970's. See more 07/12/2017 The Commune (Collective) 2017â??Whatâ??s the appeal of watching a movie in Danish with subtitles? Well, viewing The Communeâ??s first half is like entering a party-in-progress where every person is attractive and funny. Plus, thereâ??s great period detailsâ??from the 70s cars on the streets of Copenhagen to the hippie haircuts. In addition to all that, we learn that the Danes of 40 years ago celebrated by swimming nude together and spend their nights trading witticisms over rivers of beer and wine. Unfortunately, Utopia never lasts long and free love is never freeâ??and this filmâ??s laughs end abruptly. Imagine if the second half of Old School focused on Frank descending into crippling depression over his crumbling marriage. Despite that rapid tonal shift, The Commune mostly succeeds on the strength of great acting by people who havenâ??t yet seen the inside of a Beverly Hills Botox clinic. Those who donâ??t mind a bit of reading with their drama will find a lot to like. I give it a 7/10. Well worth the $6.99 Amazon rental. See more @Ollie1972 06/06/2017 Anna (Trine Dyrholm) is a television newswoman; her husband, Erik (Ulrich Thomsen), teaches architecture at a university. When Erik's father passes away, the couple must decide what to do with the huge house that Erik grew up in, as it's too expensive for them to occupy on their own. Erik prefers selling, but Anna - who has become frustrated with Erik's dour outlook and longs for something new - suggests that they use this opportunity to experiment with communal living. Energized by the era's relaxed taboos, Anna and Erik assemble a diverse, rather motley crew of cohabitants and embark on their adventure, but soon take very different paths. While Anna is anxious to stay home and experience life with her new extended family, Erik finds a more traditional way of reinvigorating himself: an affair with one of his students. When Anna tries to reconcile these two situations, the commune - and the marriage at its core - begins to unravel... Thomas Vinterberg´s "The Commune" is a story about personal desires, solidarity and tolerance that ends up in a clash. It´s impossible to not draw a comparison to Swedish director Lukas Moodysson's second full-length film "Together" from 2000 which is also based on communal living in the 70s in Sweden. You might say that "The Commune" is simply Denmark´s version of "Together". However, while "Together" managed to keep a solid line between comedy and drama and keep the characters just on the border of becoming caricatures, "The Commune" fails in doing the same and all the characters just becomes self-absorbed caricatures without any characteristics you like. The story ends up going forward with a low flame and Erik´s battle with his doubts on what he wants from life isn´t all that intriguing. The large ensemble of characters is just bickering socialist hippies that only thinks about themselves while Anna is falling to pieces infront of them and they dont´seem to care. Everything feels like it has been taken out of the "Film for Dummies" book and the only thing that might contain some sort authenticity is the environments and the clothes. And I can´t help to be a bit tired of seeing Trine Dyrholm, Ulrich Thomsen, Lars Ranthe etc yet again. The A-List of Danish actors/actresses that seems to occupy every bloody role in Denmark. Time to get in some new blood in the Danish movie industry. Trivia: The film is based on Thomas Vinterberg's play of the same name, which is inspired by his colourful childhood in an academic commune north of Copenhagen. See more @MilloTPue 04/29/2017 It is not so much about the life of a commune but about the end of a marriage. See more Read all reviews
The Commune

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Movie Info

Synopsis Personal desires clash with solidarity and tolerance in a Danish commune.
Director
Thomas Vinterberg
Producer
Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Morten Kaufmann
Screenwriter
Tobias Lindholm, Thomas Vinterberg
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Production Co
Zentropa Entertainment
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Danish
Release Date (Theaters)
May 19, 2017, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 19, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$38.3K
Runtime
1h 52m
Sound Mix
DTS, SDDS, Dolby Digital
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