The ’70s: a time of free love, radical ideas, uncensored music, and . . . communal living? Documentary director Jonathan Berman reminds us how communes once thrived in that distant decade, examining Black Bear Ranch, one of the longest- lasting communes to dot the American landscape. While political protesters took to the streets, these peaceful idealists headed to the hills of Siskiyou, Calif., to promote shared living.

At first, following Black Bear’s establishment in 1968, it seemed like a great idea. In interviews, ranch veterans recall their most vivid experiences. Past residents include actor Peter Coyote and famous herbalist Michael Tierra. All the interviewees are open and frank about their time at Black Bear, in keeping with its founding spirit. Their comments are sometimes beautiful, sometimes shocking, sometimes bizarre, and always brutally honest.

Especially about the sex—free love really was free within the commune during its heyday. (It was semiofficially disbanded in 1987, though some continue to live there.) Former resident Geba Greenberg remarks, “I could love my lover loving someone else.” Archival footage reveals naked bodies—with nothing left to the imagination—frolicking as if in the Garden of Eden.

As a filmmaker, Berman certainly isn’t emphasizing the sex at Black Bear. His doc focuses on family values, loyalty, and a deep love for one another—regardless of actual familial lineage or blood ties. In other words: shiny, happy people holding hands. Like the song, it seems to be too good to be true. “Everyone had to come together, live together, sleep together, eat together, piss together, whatever,” ex-resident Peter Leaf remembers. “Everything had to be done together to unite people.”

Really, the orgies were only a small part of the process. And former residents still speak with fondly nostalgic candor about those times—even if now (mostly) relegated to history.