Get ready to hear the Leonard Cohen classic “Hallelujah” sung a lot of times by a lot of people in the deep-dive documentary “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song.”
“Rolling Stone” writer Larry “Ratso” Sloman characterizes Cohen, whom he had interviewed many times over the course of their careers, as a “spiritual seeker,” and whether or not you found that conviction in Cohen, it is true. Sloman adds that, “other rock stars could not fathom” such a thing. That’s probably true, too.
Born into a well-to-do Orthodox Jewish family in Westmount, Quebec, in 1934, Cohen entered the music business late after establishing himself as a poet and novelist in Canada. Iconic folk singer Judy Collins encouraged Cohen to sing his song “Suzanne” before a large crowd. They ended up singing it together. A career as a singer-songwriter was launched.
Enter legendary record producer John Hammond and music industry nabob Clive Davis.
“Hallelujah” first appeared in the 1984 album “Various Positions.” Columbia refused to release the album in the U.S. John Cale formerly of the Velvet Underground made a recording of “Hallelujah” that was well-received. Jeff Buckley, son of Tim Buckley, also recorded the song. Bob Dylan added “Hallelujah” to his stage act. The song, according to Sloman, has as many as 150 verses in the tradition of Beat poetry and has a solemn, even religious tone, beginning with the mention of the Old Testament King David and “the Lord” in the second line. There are also ribald verses.
Many of Cohen’s songs have this messianic, semi-religious tone. Cohen’s song “Why by Fire” from his 1974 album “New Skin for the Old Ceremony” is a version of the Hebrew prayer “Unetanneh Tokef” chanted on Yom Kippur. Cohen’s music uses “sacramental language” to unlock “the mystery of life,” says one observer. For his entire career, the artist was on a spiritual quest, we are told. We hear about rock and roll history being made at a Paris cafe where Dylan and Cohen met and talked about their work. Dylan asked Cohen how long it took him to write “Hallelujah.” Two years, Cohen lied (it took seven). How long did it taker Dylan to write “Just Like a Woman,” Cohen asked. “15 minutes.”
Late in his life, Cohen, who has been a bit of a libertine in his time, joined a Zen monastery in California on Mount Baldy. In 1996, he was ordained a Buddhist priest. But he never considered his interest in Zen as a conflict with his Judaism. Cohen, who died in 2016, returned to touring, enjoying a glorious third act. His songs were a kind of “conversation with eternity” in the tradition of the Jewish Kabbalah.
“Hallelujah” gets a huge boost after being used in bowdlerized form in the 2001 Disney film “Shrek.” Also of interest to Cohen fans are Nick Broomfield’s 2019 documentary “Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love” and Lian Lunson’s 2005 effort “Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man.”
“Hallelujah” co-directors Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine (“Ballets Russes”) include archival footage as well as interviews, including ones with the aforementioned Collins and Sloman and photographer and one-time Cohen lover Dominique Issermann. Also in the film are musician and producer John Lissauer, who produced the first recording of “Hallelujah,” “Hallelujah” cover singer Brandi Carlile, Cohen’s Rabbi Mordecai Finley, musician and actor Glen Hansard (“Once”) and Cohen’s producing partner and back-up singer Adrienne Clarkson.
They don’t all sing “Hallelujah” in the film. It just seems like they do.
———
'HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG'
Grade: B
MPAA rating: PG-13 (for brief strong language and some sexual material)
Running time: 1:55
How to watch: Now in theaters
———
