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Movie Review: Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song

Mike Tyrkus

The film Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song proffers the supposition that the multifaceted and layered career of the poet/singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen can be extrapolated by studying his enduring and internationally renowned composition “Hallelujah.” While there may be far more to explore about this remarkable man’s life than can be contained in one documentary, this piece by Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine does an extraordinary job in doing just that. 

As a whole, the film chronicles Cohen’s song, “Hallelujah,” long (and dramatic) journey from rejection to international acclaim. The film also explores the many artists for which the song served as a sort of gauge for their own creative output or spirituality. 

Artists like John Cale, Jeff Buckley, Rufus Wainwright, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Judy Collins, Glen Hansard, Myles Kennedy, Sharon Robinson, and Regina Spektor are all allotted ample time to extol the virtues and nuances of Cohen’s composition, breathing extended new life into an already classic piece. 

Directors Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine deliver an in-depth examination of the song in a film that is never too droll or fixated on one point of view to allow the breadth of Cohen’s work to be pushed aside for another tact. Goldfine’s editing too allows Gellar’s photography to exquisitely capture the spiritual journey that Cohen was on during his life that allowed the composition to constantly change and evolve. 

Leonard Cohen in “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song.”

While Cohen’s composition is certainly his best-known song, it has also come to be considered one of the greatest songs of all time (having been covered by over 300 artists since its initial release). The lovingly crafted and expertly told story of Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song can only add to that legacy with a film that does, in fact, bring a song to life. 

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com
An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

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