Together (2000) Tillsammans (original title)

Director:

Lukas Moodysson

Writer:

Lukas Moodysson

Release Date:

25 August 2000 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

one house; one revolutionary; two open straight marriages; three gay people (maybe four); three children; two carnivores and eight vegetarians; there's only one way they're going to make it... together

Plot:

Elisabeth tires of her husband Rolf, so she packs her bags, takes the kids and goes to her brother Göran...

Plot Keywords:

Commune | Gay | Children | Hippie | Housewife

Awards:

14 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Lisa Lindgren	...	Elisabeth
Michael Nyqvist	...	Rolf
Emma Samuelsson	...	Eva
Sam Kessel	...	Stefan
Gustaf Hammarsten	...	Göran
Anja Lundkvist	...	Lena (as Anja Lundqvist)
Jessica Liedberg	...	Anna
Ola Rapace	...	Lasse (as Ola Norell)
Axel Zuber	...	Tet
Shanti Roney	...	Klas
Olle Sarri	...	Erik
Cecilia Frode	...	Signe
Lars Frode	...	Sigvard
Emil Moodysson	...	Måne
Henrik Lundström	...	Fredrik
Thérèse Brunnander	...	Margit (as Therese Brunnander)
Claes Hartelius	...	Ragnar
Sten Ljunggren	...	Birger
Mats Blomgren
Thomas Björnelin
Chun Yin Cheung	...	Waiter
David Cheung	...	Waiter
Khim Efraimsson	...	Waiter
David Fornander
Johan Hammarén
Jasmine Heikura	...	Girl at Eva's school
Anders Sticklestad Svensson
Karin Stigsdotter
Katarina Törnblad	...	Girl at Eva's School
Daniel Widlund

Directed by
Lukas Moodysson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lukas Moodysson

Produced by
Anna Anthony	....	associate producer
Malte Forssell	....	line producer
Peter Aalbæk Jensen	....	co-producer
Lars Jönsson	....	producer
Kermit Smith	....	associate producer

Cinematography by
Ulf Brantås

Film Editing by
Fredrik Abrahamsen
Michal Leszczylowski

Casting by
Imor Hermann

Art Direction by
Carl Johan De Geer

Set Decoration by
Li Garpenfeldt

Costume Design by
Mette Möller

Makeup Department
Linda Boije af Gennäs	....	makeup artist
Jessica Cederholm	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Malini Ahlberg	....	production manager (as Anna Malini Ahlberg)
Peter Bengtsson	....	post-production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Malin Fornander	....	assistant director

Art Department
Mikael Back	....	carpenter
Li Garpenfeldt	....	set dresser
Rickard Grönvall	....	painter
Louise Gylling	....	props
Sofie Kinngard	....	painter
Marie Nyberg	....	property master
Hanna Ostrowski	....	assistant property master
Kristoffer Sjöström	....	painter
Tomas Torstensson	....	carpenter
Frank Zandhoff	....	carpenter
Josefin Åsberg	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Niklas Antonell	....	sound editor (as Niklas Gustafsson)
Niklas Antonell	....	sound (as Niklas Gustafsson)
Anders Billing	....	sound
Berndt Frithiof	....	sound mixer
Morten Holm	....	sound mixer
Thomas Huhn	....	sound editor
Thomas Huhn	....	sound
Anders Hörling	....	sound editor
Niclas Merits	....	sound
Per Nyström	....	sound editor
Per Sundström	....	sound editor

Visual Effects by
Gunnar Ahlgren	....	optical printer
Janne Lundkvist	....	scanner operator

Camera and Electrical Department
Björn Becker	....	electrician
Trolle Davidson	....	assistant camera
Marcus Hansson	....	best boy
Per-Anders Jörgensen	....	still photographer
Oskar Larsson	....	best boy
Sten Lindberg	....	lighting technician
Michael Orrek	....	second assistant camera
Peter Widing	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ingemar Holst	....	extras costumes
Ulrika Sjöö	....	first assistant costume designer
Aida Stålnacke	....	second assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Kristin Grundström	....	assistant editor
Katarina Wiklund	....	assistant editor
Jörgen Wiman	....	negative cutter

Other crew
Daniel Ahlqvist	....	location manager
Jonas Andersson	....	film assistant
Lise-Lotte Book	....	film assistant
Benny Carlsson	....	film assistant
Anders Claesson	....	film assistant
Jon Ekstrand	....	film assistant
Ernesto Estroz	....	film assistant
Malin Fornander	....	script supervisor
Claudio Fransson	....	film assistant
Hanna Hansson	....	film assistant
Sebastian Hedin	....	location assistant
Kerstin Hofstadius	....	travel arrangements
Pia Janols	....	economy
Lars Karlsson	....	film assistant
Kenneth Kidbo	....	film assistant
Örjan Kihlberg	....	film assistant
Anna Knochenhauer	....	assistant to producer
Ronaldo Kuhse	....	film assistant
Jesper Kurlandsky	....	assistant to producer
Robert Kustosik	....	film assistant
Jenny Liedberg	....	assistant to cast
Johan Lindblad	....	film assistant
Coco Moodysson	....	consultant
Jenny Nilsson	....	film assistant
Jeff Norman	....	film assistant
Jonas Ohlsson	....	production assistant
Fanny Oldenburg	....	film assistant
Peter Orentzon	....	film assistant
Olle Persson	....	film assistant
Peter Possne	....	distribution executive: Sonet Film
Sofie Roos	....	film assistant
Emma Kristina Sahlén	....	production assistant
Anne-Helene Sommarström	....	public relations
Anders Sticklestad Svensson	....	child supervisor
Sarah Strand	....	production assistant
Martin Strömberg	....	film assistant
Poa Strömberg	....	legal advisor
Linda Trulsén	....	extras manager
Camilla Vikingsson	....	production assistant
Margareta Wiechel	....	laboratory manager

Production Companies

• Memfis Film
• Zentropa Entertainments (co-production)
• Film i Väst (co-production)
• SVT Drama, Göteborg (co-production)
• Keyfilms Roma (co-production)
• Nordisk Film- & TV-Fond (co-production) (as Nor-dic Film- och TV-fund)
• Swedish Film Institute (with the support of)
• Det Danske Filminstitut (with the support of)
• TV1000 AB (in association with)

Distributors

• Sonet Film (2000) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome International (2000) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Norge (2000) (Norway) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2002) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Concorde Filmverleih (2001) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Cosmopol FD (2001) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Golem Distribución (2001) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Haut et Court (2001) (France) (theatrical)
• IFC Films (2001) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• IFC Releasing (2001) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Keyfilms Roma (2001) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Look Now! (2001) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Upstream Pictures (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Bitters End (2003) (Japan) (TV)
• Canvas (2008) (Belgium) (TV)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2002) (Germany) (DVD)
• Filmfreak Distributie (2001) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Gateno Films (2003) (Peru) (all media)
• Imagem Filmes (2000) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Imagem Filmes (2000) (Brazil) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2002) (Switzerland) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Tillsammans" - Sweden (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for nudity/sexuality and language

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Sweden | Denmark | Italy

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:12 | Argentina:16 | Denmark:11 | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:III | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Trollhättan, Västra Götalands län, Sweden

Company:

Memfis Film

Trivia:

The character of Birger, played by Sten Ljunggren, previously appeared in Lukas Moodysson's short film Talk (1997) which focused on him.

Quotes:

Fredrik:Now we have the same tape on our glasses as well.

Movie Connections:

References Effi Briest (1974)

Soundtrack:

Internationalen

Human drama as it should be done

Together is a story of human relationship. As one character says at one point in the film, "I'd rather eat porridge together than pork chops alone", and that is the recurring message throughout the film. Our story takes place in a commune in 1975, which is called, you guessed it, 'Together'. The commune serves as the crux of the movie; it's the centre of the film, and the people that inhabit it are what surrounds the central habitat. The film really starts when Elisabeth has a fight with her husband and leaves him, with the kids to live at the commune, which is owned by her brother; the far too kind, Goran. From there, the film just takes off; the multiple personalities that inhabit the commune are each allowed to grow and be nurtured by the audience, no one character is similar to another and they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Just like he did in his masterpiece; Show Me Love, Lukas Moodysson creates characters here that are real and that we therefore are able to feel for and like for being people, as opposed to just because they're the central characters. It's this realism that gives Together its edge over most other human dramas, such as In America or Whale Rider.

Lukas Moodysson delivers a film here that works on a multitude of levels. The moments of drama are spot on, and because each of the characters gets to develop and we get to know them, it makes the drama more powerful than it would have been if this were not true. It's amazing, actually, just how many characters Moodysson is able to juggle in this film. In many films with a lot of characters, some end up being left by the wayside and not having a chance to shine but all the ones here do, and that is a testament to Moodysson's writing abilities. The acting on display here is an exhibition in excellence, and nothing that the actors do in the film feels odd or out of place. It's almost like watching a real commune. Just like he did with Show Me Love, Moodysson has opted for a gritty style to his film, which doesn't make the film look nice, but it does give it a very rough edge, which is what the film needs; it wouldn't have been the same with an aesthetically pleasing feel. Moodysson's direction in the film is very detached and it almost feels like a documentary. This is a good thing, as with this Moodysson allows the audience to make their own mind up about what is happening on the screen. He never piles on the sentiment, or condones or discourages any of the acts in the film; they're just they're, and you can choose whether they are moral or amoral; which is exactly how a drama of this ilk should be.

Overall, Together is an excellent piece of film. The character development and the way that the characters are handled alone makes it a must see, but the excellence doesn't end there. Moodysson has created a film here that is as entertaining as anything you're likely to see and with a definite message. Moodysson can make rubbish for the rest of his life and still be warmly remembered for this and Show Me Love.