The Commune movie is a 2006 documentary about the communal living community that formed in 1968 at the Black Bear Ranch in Northern California. The documentary has all the typical elements of a it’s kind. The old film reels of activity and life in the commune, vignettes of conversations with former residents describing their experiences, conflict and drama created within the community and from outside interlopers. There are also clips and narratives about the causal mostly sexual nudity that was often present in so called hippie communes of the day.
In 1968, Elsa and Richard Marley founded an alternative-living community, named Black Bear, in the remote Northern California wilderness with the motto “Free Land for Free People.” Director Jonathan Berman explores the problems and realities of communal living and the evolution of a community that endured FBI harassment, cult leadership and more.
One interesting aspect of the film is the participation of actor Peter Coyote, who was a resident at Black Bear Ranch for a time. Coyote shows up early in the film and gives a mostly positive account of his experience. The rest of the film is unremarkable and is strikingly similar in its structure, tone and conclusion to Edge of Paradise – Taylor Camp.
Uninteresting Story
Commune doesn’t lack anything in quality or information, it’s just not terribly interesting. If you are interested in an inside view of 60s commune life it’s worth watching. There isn’t much of naturist interest there except for one thing. There was point when some of the founders described realizing that while they thought everyone was there for the same reason they had when they started the commune that was no necessarily true. The realization led to a situation where some newer members, part of a separate group that had been allowed to join were asked to leave. The founding group had to set boundaries and clarify for everyone what ethic shaped their life together. Truth is, groups often form with very different interests and agendas that are not verbalized. Without some honest conversation, truth telling and values clarification the groups eventually disintegrate. I think something similar is happening in the naturist community today.
Where to watch
Commune can be streamed on the Kanopy streaming service, which is available for free through many municipal libraries. Watch and share your review below.
Watch now – Stream Commune on Kanopy
