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"Mr. Moodysson's film never feels
less than completely natural as it moves toward the
reconfigurations that provide its sunny climax. Here is
one of the most pleasant foreign films of the year, a
funny, graceful and immensely good-natured work."
...Dave Kehr, The Times
"It’s a insightful, compassionate film which depicts its
subjects without condescension and with warmth and
affection; their failings are closely observed, to be
sure - often humorously and occasionally powerfully -
but the individuals themselves are never cruelly
ridiculed. As a result, there’s a genuineness in the
emotions on display in the picture that’s at once
touching and amusing." ...Frank Swietek, One
Guy's Opinion
"Moodysson is a tough-nuts modern
humanist — in that respect he’s reminiscent of Jean
Renoir, although he works on a smaller, more intimate
scale and his approach is entirely different. He doesn’t
have Renoir’s elegance as a stylist, but a Renoirian
love for his characters, no matter how maddening their
behavior, hovers around them like an aura. Their foibles
make up the most vivid colors in his palette; he doesn’t
allow any superiority or smugness to muddy his view of
them. What’s more, he has a great knack for ensemble
comedy, moving the story along while keeping each
character in focus. By the end of the movie, you feel
you’ve moved in with them." ...Stephanie
Zacharek, Salon magazine
"Moodysson is clearly a talent to
watch – at the age of twenty-three he has already carved
out a niche in ‘feelgood comedies that give you
something to think about’. As such, Together is, quite
simply, one of the best films of the year and is highly
recommended." ...Matthew Turner, View London
"In Together, the square and
the free rub up against each other, but they only
pretend to clash. By the end, with the sublime image of
a soccer game in the snow (set to the wistful rapture of
ABBA’s 'S.O.S.'), they arrive at an accommodation, and
the people in the commune, for the first time, really do
come together. It’s the single most moving moment I’ve
seen in any film this year." ...Owen Gleiberman,
Entertainment Weekly
"It's not too hyper to say that in
young Lukas Moodysson's Together, Altman meets
Bergman: with its multi-thread, multi character scenario
and its socially, culturally focused setting, the film
develops a cumulative effect that is engrossing, moving
and satisfying. But it's not a quick take away, and you
have to invest in it. The rewards are solid. His
characters collide and bounce off each other, sometimes
in harmony, often not. The structure of a communal house
as a tool to bring diverse characters together is used
with great innovation and we are never sure of how life
will develop for each of them, but we make a connection
with them all." ...Andrew L. Urban, Urban
CineFile
"Moodysson, shooting in slightly
grainy, autumn tones of warm reds and browns,
attentively captures the constant clamor of conversation
in the commune, and the often-funny details feel just
right... Ultimately, Together is as comfortable
as the flannel-and-old-sweaters wardrobe worn by the
cast, and as comforting. When the entire cast plays
soccer together in the snow at the end, their
differences happily resolved, it's one of those perfect
catch-in-the-throat movie endings that give us hope for
a better world." ...Moira Macdonald, The
Seattle Times
"This rich, layered and unusually
funny film is a wonderful satirical study of a
socialist/hippie commune in Stockholm in 1975. Created
by Lukas Moodysson, the film plays like a greatest hits
of timeless scenes. Every observation and every
character is handled with a perfect combination of
ironic distance and utmost sensitivity by Moodysson, who
not only demonstrates a deep understanding for everyone
of his wide array of characters, but also has the
creativity to put them in a flux of hilarious situations
where their highly different perspectives and
personalities clash. There's ill-placed romances,
overzealous politicization, and a full spectrum of
sexualities surfacing, all leading to a variety of
miscommunication and quarrels, but also awakenings and
warmth. That last word is perhaps the best for
describing how Moodyson views and treats this
characters, and it's also largely what makes Tillsammans
such an uplifting, universal and delightful experience.
This is a film for all ages and all times."
...Fredrik Gunerius Fevang, The Fresh Films.com
"It is a harder task to make a film
about a commune with affection for the people involved,
and a real sense of the time, while retaining enough
insight to make us laugh. Such a film is Lukas
Moodysson's Together - a tale with an edge of
thoughtfulness and sadness, lending the comedy a flavor
more sweet than sour." ...Chris Dashiell,
CineScene.com
"The film opens, give or take a scene or two, on
Elisabeth's wrenching departure from the family home:
everyone in tears, Rolf storming and begging, and Abba's
minor-key masterpiece 'SOS' providing the soundtrack. In
the final scene, when everything looks so superficially
rosy, the song swells back in again, modulated and
modified by all that's gone before. And it's the
irreducible complexity of what we feel when we hear that
piece of pop music for the second time that makes
Together my favourite film. Rather than a melody, it has
become a chord: joyful and painful at once, it offers
you hope and at the same time shows you the hopelessness
of it; it breaks your heart and leaves you smiling. The
first time I heard it in that Sunday cinema, I felt like
it had been written for me." ...Sarah
Crown, The Guardian
"The predominant colors of the film,
reds and golds, add to the ’70s feel of the piece, as if
it had been shot in 1975 and only recently unearthed for
public viewing... The characters emerge from their
separate stories marvelously, a credit both to
Moodysson’s direction and the uniformly terrific
performances of the actors. Each character must confront
a reversal, either internal or external, that changes
them forever. The actors do a lot of heavy lifting
emotionally, and Moodysson keeps them always just short
of melodrama." ...Reed Oliver, Hybrid Magazine
"Writer-director Lukas Moodysson has
a light, sentimental touch that makes the audience feel
connected with these people, even the ones you don't
like at first... From character traits to costumes to
the VW van and the strategic use of ABBA songs,
32-year-old Moodysson does a brilliant job of recreating
the atmosphere of an era he was too young to remember.
His ability to make the viewer feel a part of the
commune is a tribute to his Scandinavian vérité
filmmaking style, influenced by directors such as Lars
Von Trier. And he garners wonderfully human performances
across the board." ...Rob Blackwelder,
SPLICEDwire
"Performances are wonderful and when the climax suddenly
impacts, the emotional force is as unexpected and
powerful as life itself. Compelling and invigorating,
Together is a tapestry of colours, textures and senses.
I especially like the use of music - songs like ABBA's
'SOS' are played twice in very different circumstances,
allowing the lyric to impact in a totally different
way." ...Louise Keller, Urban CineFile
"Together is far from your
average comedy. There are no jokes as such, and most of
the humour stems from observing the surreal little
moments that are just part of human life. It's difficult
to realistically capture human relationships on screen,
but this where Moodysson's main talent lies. If there's
one thing that all his films have in common it's the
sense of realism. It never feels scripted and the
handheld camera adds to the documentary feel of the
film." ...Dr. Nick, efilmcritic.com
"Written by the director Lukas
Moodysson, this big-hearted film builds a believable set
of relationships and remains sympathetic to every
character, even when they're acting badly and hurting
each other - including the abusive Rolf."
...Graeme Clark, The Spinning Image
"Dealing with a far wider scope than
his previous outing, writer-director Lukas Moodysson
again impresses — and he manages to give a story arc to
more than a dozen characters in less than two hours. His
no-frills filmmaking techniques may be somewhat
distracting for some (especially the naturalistic
cinematography), but he balances humor and drama well
and gets some strong performances from a cast made up of
both veterans and talented newcomers." ...Jeff
Vice, Deseret News
"If Bergman was the mid-century Scandinavian voice
of conscience—creating dark, powerful films about the
human experience in a world where God seems absent—Lukas
Moodysson is his contemporary equivalent."
...J. Robert Parks, Paste Magazine
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