“Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song” is a documentary by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller that explores in-depth the evolution and legacy of the iconic song “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen. On the other hand, this is not at all a Cohen biography; rather, how one of his songs moved from rejection at its initial release to a cultural phenomenon. It epitomizes that relentless creativity allied to perseverance can often lead to a piece of art taking on life of its own as time goes.
Hallelujah” was written in the early 1980s by Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist Leonard Cohen. This was a song in his album called “Various Positions,” which actually received very bad reviews from his record company. Surprisingly, Columbia Records did not even release it in the United States because they tagged it as uncommercial. Undeterred, Cohen kept on with the song, continued singing it during his concerts, subtly changing its lyrics and arrangements.
It carefully traces how “Hallelujah” came about from Cohen’s meticulous process of writing. According to accounts, Cohen was said to have written some 80 verses and rewrote and tried lots of them until he nailed this fragile balance between sacred and profane, sorrow and joy. The relentless pursuit of perfection speaks to commitment to his craft, which is something that the film<> provides a very fine artistic journey about.
Much of the power of “Hallelujah” lies in its resonance across cultures and generations. There have been many covers of the song, each giving different interpretations and emotional depths. The documentary features interviews from a selection of those artists, including John Cale and Jeff Buckley, whose versions proved most important in popularizing it. Cale’s version pared it down to a basic arrangement that exposed the haunting lyrics and minimalist piano. This is the version that reached Jeff Buckley, whose ethereal cover on his 1994 album “Grace,” usually is cited as definitive.
The documentary by Goldfine and Geller also traces how “Hallelujah” emerged into popular culture in many unexpected channels. It became well known after it was used in the 2001 animated movie “Shrek,” which was performed by Rufus Wainwright, hence making the song familiar to a whole new generation of listeners and really sealing its place as a sort of modern classic. How “Hallelujah” has been playing across all sorts of media, from television shows to movies—typically at the real emotional gut-busters—has become hardwired into the collective consciousness.
Only one of the strong points of this documentary is that it meshes the personal with the universal; much as it delves deep into the story of Cohen’s life and the historical record of the song, the film does anything but miss out on digging deep in the deeper human themes of creation, resilience, and the transmuting power of music. Interviews with Cohen’s friends, family, and close collaborators bring aboard tender insights into his character and artistic vision. These personal vignettes, along with the archival footage and Cohen’s own musings, make for rich material in a multi-layered narrative.
It also takes up the spiritual and philosophical contexts around “Hallelujah.” Cohen was himself quite interested in religion and spirituality. The song is so inscrutable that one can hardly glue it to any single genre or meaning. Biblical references are intertwined with personal introspection; such seems to hold an available space within the meaning and connection to the lyrics for each listener individually. This open-endedness is one of the reasons “Hallelujah” has endured and evolved over the years, emerging as a song people turn to at times of joy, sorrow, and in between.
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song” isn’t lenient on hard work, despite its successes. The documentary accepts the periods of wrestling and doubt personally and professionally that Cohen went through in his entire career. These very moments of vulnerability flesh out the narrative for a reminder that the path to the creation of something timeless often is paved with big obstacles.
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This documentary is both a visual and acoustic feast. The interaction of live performances with interviews and cinematic recreations, woven together by the directors, holds their audience enthralled. The soundtrack charts a succession of versions of “Hallelujah” that helps drive both the emotional and thematic arcs of the film, rendering it not just a story about a song, but experiential in many different ways.
Ultimately, “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song” is a powerfully done documentary that, in itself, shows respect for one of the most favorite songs to have been created in the past century. It attests to the genius of Leonard Cohen, the redemptive power of music, and the inadvertent journey of “Hallelujah” from obscurity to ubiquity. On the other side, it does so through sensitive narration and gripping story telling, ensuring Cohen’s legacy and that of the timeless magic of “Hallelujah” go on to inspire and move generations to come.
