Beginning in the late ’60s, Northern California’s Black Bear Ranch was ground zero for counterculture rebels who shunned their bourgeois backgrounds and embraced the values of communal living. Director Jonathan Berman juxtaposes vintage film and video footage with newly shot interviews in which original participants in this social experiment discuss where they succeeded and failed. Actor/activist Peter Coyote is among those adding reminiscences in this fascinating documentary.

Shelf Talk: Well-received at the 2005 Slamdance Film Festival and a few similar venues, Commune got a token theatrical release last year in the form of isolated arthouse engagements. The film can be promoted as both a nostalgia item and an alternative-lifestyle study, but either way, it’s a niche item with little mainstream appeal.