I looked forward to Wanderlust
a comedy about a young couple who decide to escape from city life in New York Georgia New
York
The solution is to accept the offer from the husband’s
brother of accommodation and board while they attempt to rebuild their working
careers and this involves a long car journey. Becoming tired the wife presses
her husband to stop for the night and seeing the sign for a hotel bed and
breakfast they follow only to come across a naked man which caused them to turn
the car upside down. They take a room at the hotel but cannot sleep from noise
in the living room, investigate and discover the hotel is a commercial side of
a commune of some very interesting people. The following morning the car is
righted and they continue their journey although invited to join the commune.
After finding that the hospitality offered by the brother is
full of resentment especially from the brother’s wife the couple decide to try
the commune but also have second thoughts when “free love” becomes a big issue
and the couple are pursued by members wanting a relationship with them but they
decline.
No sooner have they commenced to settle than they find the
commune is under threat because developers of a Casino have discovered that the
commune does not appear to have title deeds to the estate and attempt to move
in. One of the group is certain they do
have the deeds which cannot be found and the wife, Linda
take as a lead in stopping entry on the site by “flashing” which attracts media
attention and establishes her position within
the commune as a leader. This only incites one of the members into wanting
Linda more and he issues an ultimatum to the couple to participate in free love
or leave, Linda who has found her true nature wants to stay and starts a sexual
relationship with one the member Seth. George, the husband continues not to be
happy with becoming sexually involved with someone else and leaves to return to
the home of his brother.
Seth the new partner of Linda is so taken with her that on
searching and finding the property deed, instead of rescuing the commune sells
it to the property developers as a means of breaking up the commune so he and
Linda can have a separate life together, Fortunately this treason is witnessed
by a child member who tells Linda who forces Seth to admit what he has done and
his motivation which she rejects.
George realises that instead of running away he should have
stayed and attempted to win Linda over again, comes back and fights Seth while
the rest of the community adopt a non violent interventionist approach.
One of the members of the group is discovered to have
written a political thriller which the couple publish setting up their own
company for the purpose and this provides a new role for the couple and income
for the Commune who are able to fend off the developers after one of the original
founders of the Commune has kept a copy of the title deeds.
As a young man I had a little experience of commune life
visiting a small one in Wales and having contact with two small community/shared
houses in London as well as participating in a peace camp and several peace marches
and where contrary to popular mythology, finding new and better ways for people
to live together and share in a non violent way was the motivating and governing
principle. However relationships between people, especially young people have
always and will always prove difficult for some more than others, especially
when the pressures of earning and family life come to the fore and the commune
cab become a negative power base for individuals as much as in any military dictatorship
or commercial business. This was the subject of a second film about Commune
Life and its impact on individuals in Martha Marcy May Marlene
No comments:
Post a Comment