“Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song”: The Story of a Modern Classic

A documentary about the creative journey on the creation of a song, and the ripple effects that song has had on music fans and other artists over the years wasn’t entirely what I expected, but I’m also thoroughly happy about the experience.

Leonard Cohen was, when I came to know his music, considered an eclectic poet & songwriter, working somewhere in the fusion of folk, pop and experimental. I learned later that he was much more than that, but I first became aware of his music because of the movie Pump Up the Volume (1990), which used “Everybody Knows” in the film. I originally thought both Cohen’s version and a cover version by Concrete Blonde would be on the soundtrack, since they were both featured in the movie, but back then, I still had a lot to learn about Hollywood and music usage in television and film. But I bought that soundtrack anyway — full disclosure, I like Leonard Cohen’s work, and “Everybody Knows” resonates with me more than “Hallelujah” does.

While this movie covers Cohen’s career and influences, it focuses primarily on the creative journey behind the writing of, eventual production and continuing evolution of one of Cohen’s most (now) iconic songs, the many years he spent writing different lyrics for it, until it was finally recorded and produced, on an album (Various Positions, 1984) that Columbia Records at the time would believe was so much of a failure that they refused to release it in the US.

How much of Cohen’s early career and writing had been preserved is fascinating to me, especially the interviews and photographs from the 60s and 70s, and having many of the people who were there at those times comment on what was also going on is such a rare treat. The inclusion of so many details from the MTV days are fun to see, and the background on Jeff Buckley and how his version of “Hallelujah” impacted so many is amazing. The undeniable impacted his untimely accidental death had on the song becoming popular and more visible to mainstream music fans is a a question they ask in the movie: would “Hallelujah” have become as popular in the time it did if Buckley hadn’t died?

There are many in and around the music world who think Buckley’s version is the best produced version, and arguments about that continue on the internet. For me, my favorite cover rendition is by the a cappella group Pentatonix.

The section providing background on the creative disagreements and discussions on how “Hallelujah” came to be used in the movie Shrek (2001), and which version that would be used, is very funny, and shines a light on how differently the song can touch people, and how different versions connect in different ways. The reasons aside, it was that use in the movie that launched the song into the consciousness of millions of performers from a new generation, and from there we will continue to get new, different renditions of “Hallelujah”, each with its own soulful connection to that artist’s fans.

Some artists with emotional connections to “Hallelujah” express how deeply the song touched them, both in listening to it and when they performed the song during their own concerts; Brandi Carlile and Eric Church, especially. When they talk about how performing the song impacted them, it’s a moving sentiment to the lasting effects and long reach of the song.

All in all, if you’re a fan of Leonard Cohen’s or of music, you will enjoy this, even the parts highlighting how the creation of music both meshes and clashes with the business of music. I guess for me, show that and seeing how that sometimes antagonistic collaboration might disrupt how music gets to the masses, but it can’t keep it quashed forever, is one of the better ideas.

Five stars

HALLELUJAH: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song is a definitive exploration of singersongwriter Leonard Cohen as seen through the prism of his internationally renowned hymn, “Hallelujah.” This feature-length documentary weaves together three creative strands: The songwriter and his times; the song’s dramatic journey from record label reject to chart-topping hit; and moving testimonies from major recording artists for whom “Hallelujah” has become a personal touchstone. Approved for production by Leonard Cohen just before his 80th birthday in 2014, the film accesses a wealth of never-before-seen archival materials from the Cohen Trust including Cohen’s personal notebooks, journals and photographs, performance footage, and extremely rare audio recordings and interviews.

DIRECTED BY: Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine

SELECTIONS: Venice Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, and more

INSPIRED BY THE BOOK: The Holy of the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & the Unlikely Ascent of Hallelujah by Alan Light (2012)

FEATURING: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, John Cale, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan, Glen Hansard, Sharon Robinson, Rufus Wainwright and many others.

Web: https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/hallelujah/