The ‘60s ended for a reason

The new documentary “Commune” tells, in broad strokes, the story of a communal farm in California’s Gold Country. Started in 1968 thanks to contributions from sympathetic rock stars, Black Bear Ranch has been home to hundreds of people drawn by the promise of “Free Land for Free People.” Using archival footage and recent interviews, the film presents a beautiful dream marred by conflicting desires and a harsh reality tempered by a unique sense of family.

The most recognizable face is that of Bay Area actor and activist Peter Coyote, who captures the naivete of those times by admitting, “We thought the government would be overthrown in two years.” A back-to-nature lifestyle seemed the perfect haven from the coming chaos and the mercenary world.

The early idealism of these latter-day Rousseaus is decisively chilled by their first winter, isolated from civilization by miles of impassable dirt road and snow six feet deep. But the harsh conditions force the previously unorganized, impractical bunch to learn to survive, or as one interviewee puts it, “Either chop wood, haul water or become a dead Zen guy.”

Unfortunately, producer-director Jonathan Berman only scratches the surface of daily life at Black Bear. We’re left with many unanswered questions about the nuts-and-bolts of the place, even the basic social interactions and what it’s like today. There are so many voices in the piece that we never get to know any of them; it’s a dizzying array of opinions. The time elements are also confused, so it’s difficult to track when things happen, such as the death of one of the principals.

The usual complications of jealousy, individualism and different ideas about how to live and raise a family threaten to tear the place apart. After all, how can the ranch be a heaven on Earth if Sartre was right and hell is other people? As they grow older, some find that free love isn’t really free. Ironically, many seem happier after leaving and finding their own ways, often embracing the very nuclear-family ideals they once railed against. And the strength of this hippie community is most convincingly manifested when it comes together to oust a cultish group that has infiltrated the ranch.

“Commune” is fitfully interesting, but would have benefited from tighter focus and finer detail.

*

‘Commune’

MPAA rating: Unrated

A Five Points Media release. Producer-director Jonathan Berman. Editors Marisa Simpson, Michael Taylor. Music Elliott Sharp. Running time: 1 hour, 18 minutes.

Exclusively at Laemmle’s Grande, 345 S. Figueroa St., downtown L.A. (213) 617-0268.