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Commune
Five Points Media

Commune reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 74 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
N/A out of 10
based on 11 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 0 votes
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Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Peter Coyote, Geba Greenberg, Elsa Marley, Osha Neumann, Kenoli Oleari, Cedar Seeger, Mahaj Seeger, and Michael Tierra

With its spotlight on the still surviving Black Bear Ranch commune in remote Northern California, this documentary is the first real insider look at communal living, and how seemingly small personal choices can create shock waves felt throughout the world. (Five Points Media)


GENRE(S): Documentary  
WRITTEN BY: Jonathan Berman  
DIRECTED BY: Jonathan Berman  
RELEASE DATE: Theatrical: November 3, 2006 
RUNNING TIME: 78 minutes, Color / B/W 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

80
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
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.
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80
The New York Times Stephen Holden
A breezy, informal history of the Black Bear Ranch, a long-running California commune begun in the summer of 1968 and still in existence, offers the fascinating spectacle of observing people then and now.
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80
Variety Robert Koehler
Often mocked and rarely understood, the movement in communal living that blossomed with Flower Power in the '60s gets its most honest appraisal yet on film with Jonathan Berman's Commune.
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80
LA Weekly Greg Burk
A nice counterpoint is the soundtrack, with psychedelic trip music and bottleneck blues by noted wild-ass guitarist Elliott Sharp. It’s good to hear people talking about openheartedness without irony.
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75
The Onion (A.V. Club) Noel Murray
It's fascinating to see how the Black Bears got onto their current path, but we don't see enough of the journey.
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75
New York Daily News Jack Mathews
Jonathan Berman's documentary about California's famous Black Bear Ranch is a trip.
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75
New York Post V.A. Musetto
As we learn in director Jonathan Berman's fun documentary Commune, the ranch was financed by people such as musician Frank Zappa and actor James Coburn.
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75
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
The only famous person in the film, actor Peter Coyote, is an eloquent spokesman, but he was only a visitor to Black Bear; the stars are the full-timers, and their willingness to share their rich and sometimes painful memories is captivating.
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75
San Francisco Chronicle G. Allen Johnson
Black Bear Ranch's legacy of environmentalism (the residents were on the forefront of the anti-deforestation movement), and the endearing long-term relationships it engendered, endure.
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70
Village Voice J. Hoberman
Celebrating the desire to immerse oneself in a collective, world-changing enterprise, Commune is unavoidably nostalgic.
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60
Los Angeles Times Michael Ordona
Unfortunately, producer-director Jonathan Berman only scratches the surface of daily life at Black Bear. We're left with many unanswered questions about the nuts-and-bolts of the place, even the basic social interactions and what it's like today. There are so many voices in the piece that we never get to know any of them; it's a dizzying array of opinions.
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What Our Users Said

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