Tom Dooley A middle class Danish couple find that they have inherited a rather grand house on the death of Erik's father. It is going to be too big for them and their only daughter and more over too hard to finance and so Anna suggests they invite a few others to live with them and for a 'Kollektivet' or as we would call it a commune. They waste little to no time in getting an assorted array of waifs and not so strays and soon fine that communal living bring challenges and opportunities in equal measure. Not all of them are going to be easy to grasp and the tensions, that go hand in hand with any social experiment, waste no time in pushing their way to the fore.Now I really liked this, I loved the idea of a commune having spent time in one in the eighties (when they were a bit passé to be honest) and the themes are explored here but also the lives of the main characters are mostly to the fore. This is Anna played brilliantly by Trine Dryholm – 'The Legacy' and her husband Erik (Ulrich Thomsen – 'The Blacklist') and their young daughter who is growing up much too quickly. His is from director Thomas Vinterberg who brought us 'The Hunt' in 2012 and 'The Celebration' in 1998 and I think he has an eye for style but sometimes struggles to engage, but here I think he has melded all parts of the art very well together to bring a very entertaining watch – recommended.

Christoph Spielberger The film wants to tell the feasibility of free love in a shared house, concurrent with the sexual evolution of a 14 year old girl. Big fail. The camera is constantly showing the girl's face, the face and again the face, to the degree of of boredom or revulsion; for no reason fathomable. Maybe because for the lack of better options, or the director fell in love with her (didn't they also promote sex with children back then?). The girl wants to get rid of her virginity and decides to get shagged like a peace of meat, worse than in a porn movie. No problem for her. Why? Because she learned, that to love means also to suffer. Where did she learn that from? Her parents just separated, because the father wants to shag the younger edition of his wife. The younger being his student, admiring him for some reason, that the film isn't able to describe. The father always looks grumpy, because of stress, too much alcohol, too many women, life in general, or some other reason, not mentioned in the film. The wife, in a desperate attempt to win her husband back, agrees the mistress joining the happy commune. So she loses her mind, her job and her house, because so sweet an oh so smart daughter knows that love flows like a river - her boyfriend's sex skills had improved in the meantime - and convinces mummy to move out. The rest of the people in the group agree, because there is no way to deny the new couple their love. It doesn't get any more superficial than that. Like the director, they all seem to have the emotional maturity of teenagers.

Wim Boeren Don't look at the synopsis because that's not what the movie is about. Prior to the movie I didn't know what a commune was. After the movie I still didn't know, I had to look it up. I love atmospheric movies with low-key stories. The fate of the world doesn't need to be in the balance in every movie. Kollektivet is about human feelings and relationships and nothing more. A film doesn't need conflict to be interesting. It can have a compelling narrative, or can give the viewer a look at a person or situation (like a documentary). Kollektivet doesn't offer much of conflict, doesn't offer much of narrative and only offers a slight look at life within the commune. Despite that is succeeds. The natural way the conversations take place alone makes it interesting. It all feels so very real. Everything about Kollektivet feels real. Because we only see a small part of everyone's life and struggles the movie doesn't succeed in being involving the viewer emotionally. At least not at the moment. But after the credits rolled it stuck in my head nonetheless. And there's only one single reason for that: just how natural it all is. It's so natural that I could just feel myself as a part of that commune. And that's what makes this movie so special, because it's so freaking atmospheric it's scary. The fact that the setting is in a "commune" in the 70's really doesn't matter that much. It could have been set anywhere and at any time. I simply don't know why the word "commune" is used as often in the movie as it is, as if it's so important. Because, at least in Kollektivet, it's simply about multiple people living in one big house like one big family. Threating that simple fact like it's such a special thing is weird to me. People live together all over the world. Anyway, like I said: it's all about human feelings and relations here.

solefab-53302 The scenery in the commune is all about the fuzz. Lovely to watch a scenery from a 70's. Fine performances by the whole crew of actors.First, the line of story has some really weak spots. The turnaround of Anna, she persuades Erik in not selling the house and start a commune with some friends. Erik feels overlooked ONE time by her wife at a joyful dinner party. Minutes later he has found relief in a student of his which becomes his second girlfriend. Anna openly accepts it in a awkward scene between Erik and Anna. Ulrich Thomsen is just one of the most awkward people to portrait the life of a couple. I didn't know whether to laugh or not. Why does Anna turn from being a the main fire of the whole commune-thing into a deep crisis? It doesn't make sense, from what we know.The woman is a very good looking and successful news host in television. She has a largely part of the Danish population of men to adore her. To me, that makes the story unreliable. The movie could have been a lot more interesting, if she went with the flow and found her own sexual way of dealing with her challenge. It doesn't make sense that she is the one who crashes and become the victim of her own free spirit. You could tell the exact same story in 2016-settings. So why use a 70s commune setting if you won't use and exploit the unique spirit of open sexual relationships? The Commune would have been a great pitch for a TV-show, likewise 'Arvingerne', 'Sommer' and so on. 10 episodes. Let's get deeper into the different characters, when the movie doesn't the have time. Why does Allon cry all the time? Why does Ole always burn other peoples stuff? Why does Mona lay with so many men? Why is Steffen so co-dependent? And let's see more about the development of the teen-years of Freja.Instead, the movie which is a love story between three people, it fails as a comedy in a commune in the lustful 70's.Indeed, Trine Dyrholm plays the role very authentically. I don't know if it is the luck of Thomas Vinterberg or maybe the movie would have been complete different without her going in destruction.Again, would have been a great episode in a TV-show. But fails as a movie.