Commune

Commune channels a bygone era of drop-outs living an American dream on the Free Love frontier. This is the happy alternative to the apocalyptic California sub-cultures of Charles Manson and the Rev. Jim Jones.

Watching Jonathan Berman's affectionate documentary, Commune, about the influential establishment in Siskiyou County, brought to mind the recent documentary Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple.

Commune gets at the central, seductive paradoxes inherent in so much counterculture belief and practice.

Fitfully interesting, but would have benefited from tighter focus and finer detail.

It's fascinating to see how the Black Bears got onto their current path, but we don't see enough of the journey.

Berman blends home movies of ranch life with interviews with former residents, their now-grown children and neighbors of the ranch.

A fascinating subplot involves the slow but steady evolution of the female members' sense of their power.

Kinda down-to-earth comments make Commune kinda intriguing.

Examines what life was like at an idealized, hippie oasis back in the Sixties. Not exactly groovy, or anybody's idea of nirvana, dude.

An intriguing, entertaining and engaging documentary. My only criticism -- I simply wanted to know so much more.