Hallelujah, les mots de Leonard Cohen

When Leonard Cohen passed away in 2016, the first song that inevitably was mentioned about his career was "Hallelujah". Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine's documentary uses that famous hymnal to trace not only the history of that particular song, but Cohen's entire life and career.

The song was first recorded in 1984 but he had been in the process of writing it for at least five years, including, by his own count, going through some 150 verses (Cohen continued to re-write phrases and verses ever after)! "Hallelujah" made little impact upon release and it wasn't until first John Cale, and later, Jeff Buckley covered the tune got major attention.

The movie documents Buckley's version in such detail, that it sidetracks the main discussion for quite a spell. The digression is, unfortunately, a bit emblematic of the Doc as a whole. While the basics of Cohen's life (and this particular song) are adequately delved into, Geller and Goldfine never find a consistent narrative. Fortunately, there is enough quality archive footage along with contemporary interviews with those who knew him including long-time friend Larry Ratso Soloman and producer John Lissauer to flesh out some semblance of a story-line.

The concert footage allows Cohen to be seen and heard in his element over the decades. It's an irony that Cohen only had a Billboard charted single -- after he passed away. It, of course, was "Hallelujah."

Cut 20 minutes and you've got a pretty good music doc.

The director clearly wanted to include all of the celebrity interviews, but they seemed kind of unnecessary and when stacked together, repetitive. Those are probably most of what you could cut.

Otherwise it's an enjoyable film with really cool archival footage.

It's a documentary on the creative life of Leonard Cohen with particular emphasis on his signature song, "Hallelujah."

The film takes a mostly chronological approach beginning with Cohen's early musical career and follows through to his death. Many people who worked with Cohen, including various producers, are interviewed about Cohen. Some interviews with Cohen, especially by Larry Sloman, and with clips of Cohen in performance are included. A block in the third quarter of the film deals with the many performers who covered "Hallelujah."

This was a nagging disappointment, especially since I've like Leonard Cohen for a long time and included one of his songs in our 1969 wedding. This is really two incomplete documentaries mashed into one. The one that would have interested me the most would have been the spiritual journey of Leonard Cohen. The first half is mostly that, but then it obsesses over "Hallelujah" to the extent of including American Idol performers. The other documentary could have been on "Hallelujah" the song, which wouldn't have needed all of Cohen's background and could have better explored the sacred/secular/sexual aspects of that song.

Still, if you like Leonard Cohen and his music, you will gain some insight in seeing this film. I did, but wished it could have been so much better.

For those of you who are unaware, Leonard Cohen was a Jewish Canadian mystic poet. His concern was the apparent conflict between the sacred and the profane. One day he realized what he was writing might actually be songs, and so began a concert and recording career. The song in the title "Hallelujah" was a track on an album which his company refused to release -- in my opinion, Cohen's mixture of the sacred and the earthy in this song likely offended the equally Jewish head of the company so much it was not released in the US. Nonetheless, the song caught on over the decades.

As a Jew, I find nothing surprising in this. As Cohen notes in one of the later interviews included herein, Judaism makes you want to raise your fist and to shout hallelujah. To Christians, who believe in a benevolent G*d, this seems to be confusing; however Jews recognize that the world is G*d's creation just as much as the Torah. Which is why there are more than a hundred verses in Cohen's notebooks, with subjects ranging from angels to bondage.

Cohen wrote some other excellent songs, too.

Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song left me in its spell, and Cohen's. The film has so may layers, it is uplifting and thought provoking. A beautifully crafted film.