2005 documentary/tribute
Rating: 10/20
Plot: Leonard Cohen is lured from Mt. Baldy to hear praises sung from the lips of the likes of Bono and The Edge and Beth Orton and Antony (without his Johnsons?) and Jarvis Cocker and seemingly every single person who Rufus Wainwright is related to (except for Loudon). Hal Willner is at least partially responsible. Snippets of the legend's life are intertwined with live performances in which those inspired read his lyrics and make extraneous hand gestures. Leonard Cohen takes the microphone and, with the help of U2, runs through one of his biggest hits--"My $*#@ Got a Tasty @*$, Mr. Freezy" (censored for sensitive computers)--and is then allowed to return to Mt. Baldy so that he can reread the Bhagavad Gita, feed bits of sausage to injured birds, and start planning for his next record release (2012 or thereabouts).
There's absolutely nothing wrong with the idea of a Leonard Cohen documentary, but this was pure reverence. Sure he deserves the praise, but I don't want to watch two hours of gushing. There was a shocking lack of anything even close to revolutionary. There was also far too much style--experiments with different cameras (I guess), an overuse of red bubble things, echoing. Considering the subject's lyrics, which to me have this wonderful complexity because they are so simple, the documentary style seemed out of place. The music wasn't bad, but it was tiring watching the performers reading the lyrics from a music stand. There was also a lack of variety in the performances, and Martha Wainwright makes me uncomfortable. Watching Cohen himself sing "Tower of Song" (even with Bono and The Edge) and talk was good. The fuzzy explanation of "Suzanne" and his line about no longer working on your own masterpiece and just living in the masterpiece we're in were interesting. Lack of details made this whole thing seem a little pointless. However, if you've been looking for a chance to watch Bono jizz all over his copy of Death of a Ladies Man, this is your shot.
No picture.
i think i saw some of this on pbs. i don't think it can even be called a documentary, just a big pr push. lame
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