Hippy House Calls SOS
I can guarantee that if you take a chance and watch Swedish movie "Together" you will finish it having been thoroughly entertained but at a bit of a quandary as to what the purpose of it was. The truth is that I don't think "Together" has a deeper purpose other than to entertain by taking us back to the 70s into a hippy house where life doesn't run smoothly despite a belief of togetherness. And it certainly does entertain from the various situations which arise between the various people who live in this household.
Göran (Gustaf Hammarsten) is the head of a home where those who don't want to conform to society choose to live in a spirit of togetherness and it is where his sister Elisabeth (Lisa Lindgren) and her children Eva (Emma Samuelsson) and Stefan (Sam Kessel) turn up when she has enough of her husband Rolf (Michael Nyqvist) getting drunk and hitting her. But this house where there are no rules is not the harmonious place the residents would like. Lasse (Ola Rapace) and Anna (Jessica Liedberg) having once been married can't stop having a go at each other whilst Göran may talk about open relationships struggles when his girlfriend Lena (Anja Lundkvist) sleeps with young Erik (Olle Sarri).
So in truth whilst "Together" gives us this set up of Elisabeth and children moving into the hippy home there isn't really a central story. Her issues with husband Rolf occasionally crop up as we see him deal with the despair of losing her and his children whilst then trying to sort things out but what we get is a series of characters and how they interact.
As such to delve into the dynamics of the household would be to reveal much of the fun of "Together" as it is the amusement of discovering the characters, their quirks and issues which make it so entertaining. But to give you a snapshot there is a lesbian who flirts with Elisabeth, a homosexual who tries to seduce Lasse, Lena and her free loving and that doesn't even mention the nosy next door neighbours, a stiff couple who spy on the hippies next door. So in effect "Together" feels like a year in the life of this hippy house where relationships form, people grow, some leave and others find peace plus the children Eva and Stefan grow to feel comfortable as this initial alien place becomes home with a strange family dynamic.
The thing is that as someone who can't speak a word of Swedish the language barrier doesn't become an obstacle, after half and hour as we meet all the people in the house and quickly discover their traits we quickly get to know their behaviour. When Anna asks someone if she likes meditation we know exactly what her ulterior motive is and when Lena cuddles up to Göran and says she has just had her first orgasm you can sense the humour with out the need for dialogue. And yes that does mean "Together" is a bit of a Swedish sex comedy but not as much sex as you may think, just enough to make you laugh and occasionally shock you.
What this all boils down to is that whilst I don't think "Together" had any deep meaning the simple entertainment of a year in the life of a hippy house is amusing. You get to know the characters, find their quirks and situations amusing and enjoy how they grow as people over the course of the movie into a strange family.
