First Winter

More "whisper" than "shout", this worthwhile film, that I saw at the Woodstock (N.Y.) Film Festival, is a story about strong issues (sexual influence, narcotic drug usage, and survival when the outside world doesn't exist) but done in an intimate look at emotions, with lots of closeup camera work, during a relatively short span of time.

Rather than being a big budget apocalyptic multi character visual orgy, this almost biographical film looks at a narrow range of characters- it conveniently even pares down the total number of characters early in the film- with just an on location set of a multi room farm house interior and the snow covered surrounding countryside, and how one person relates to one person, within the commune dynamic.

The film doesn't invite complexity, ignoring the "baggage" of the future or the past, but for the few months that the film's actions portray- it is about depicting individual traits and conflicts within a subservient cult hierarchy. "Can we all get along", referring to a broad incident of an entirely different societal issue, is perhaps, in this small independent film, reflected in the ending- food will be found, Yoga continues to be practiced, music will be played, the commune will survive.