Customer Reviews

Leonard Cohen I'm Your Man

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Saw this film at the Los Angeles premiere end of June 2006 - the film is full of love for the creative talent of an extraordinary wordsmith whose music mystically takes his words to an even higher vibration.

the film is so real the audience gave standing ovations for performances in the film!!!

And Leonard himself came out to thank the audience, saying he was retiring to the green room to fortify himself with a drink to deal with "the moral pneumonia that comes after the blizzard of praise."

OBTW - he did say he was thinking of going on tour again - at 71 - imagine!

Leonard Cohen's music brings together poetry, melody, sensuality and spirit in a way that hasn't been matched by any other performer i know. This movie alludes to the magic of Cohen's work but cannot fully capture it as it focuses most of its time on performers who, while trying hard, fall short of what was asked of them.

As a previous reviewer quipped, I'd much prefer to see more of the man and less of the fans. I found myself fidgeting whenever the camera focused on others. Especially the Wainwrights seemed to be all over the place, undeservedly so, IMHO; and Nick Cave was vaguely dissapointing with his Sinatra mannerisms. I liked the piece by Anthony (who I haven't heard of before) and especially the closing performance by Bono and his buddies together with Cohen; it was touching to see the respect these guys have for the old aristocrat.

I have a lot of affection for Cohen and was sincerely touched by this movie. The humility, the nobility of character and mind and the sheer power of presence that emanate from Leonard show how a well-spent life looks like.

Hagiography is a perfect fit for what it seems was attempted with this movie. And Leonard deserves just that, but done well. What is up with that strange noise the director hits us over the head with implying Leonard's 'mystic' status? Is it wind? Music? Definately annoying and totally uncalled for. When Leonard speaks let the audience determine if what he is saying is profound/esoteric, etc without the parlor tricks. Geez. It made what was happening so amateurish (that 'noise') and cheapened the reality of what was being heard and seen.

The reverence by the performers was well represented. I didn't much care for the cd that was born of this dvd. Many of the performances seemed too campy, as if they were competing for the best off-kilter interpretation of what are Leonard classics. It was infinately better to watch and listen as opposed to just listening to the cd. Antony is the best exception to the 'interpretive wars' (see my cd review for details). He out shines all with "If It Be Your Will" honoring its original ambiance with his voice that just makes you want to cry and you don't know why.

I know Leonard embraced Lian's making of this piece and I can tell she is truly enamoured of him and his talents, but the story is badly presented. The weird noises, the strange use of visuals and the camera actions make you think more about the 'film' being made instead of the content, like an annoying fingerprint showing up on each frame of the screen. She should have remained invisible and let the story speak for itself.

I hope someone puts together a 'hagiography' of Leonard that does let him show up without all the nonsense.

That said, buy it! Leonard is in it. I will, despite all watch it again.

Regards,
Laurie

Leonard Cohen is a master and this documentary is a fitting tribute to a legend. The audience at the Film Forum in New York sat in awed silence while the music washed though us and the lyrics cleansed our souls. Sometimes, the words cut painfully close to the bone, reminding us of our shared experience of being human.

Leonard Cohen goes to places most of us are unwilling to look at and brings back truth that no one can deny. Bono accurately describes it as going into the abyss and laughing at it. The artists performing his songs follow him there and brilliantly express the depth of his poetry set to music.

This is an outstanding film, documenting the poetic voice of our generation, and surely of many generations to come.

Full disclosure: it's mighty hard to get me to think anything bad about LC, let alone say it, so I'm hardly a neutral observer when it comes to this documentary. Still, if you have any interest in Cohen and his music, this is unquestionably a must see. The commentary by Bono, Rufus Wainwright and others gets a little too reverential at times for my taste. Leonard is no saint (if for no other reason than Chelsea Hotel #2, his kiss -- and more -- and tell tale about an interlude with Janis Joplin) and his sly humor as he talks about his life peeks through again and again, leavening the endless accolades from his admirers. There are many wonderful pictures of Cohen as a child and the film ends by repeating one of him on a tricycle. My favorite though, and one that I think ties together all the contradictions in his life and work, is one of a ten or twelve year old Leonard neatly dressed and combed but for an unmanageable cowlick, and standing with a bouquet of flowers in front of a statue of Mary.

The singers do great justice to Leonard's work, including Rufus Wainwright in Hallelujuah and the aforementioned Chelsea Hotel (a somewhat different tune from Rufus's point of view). But best of all for me were his sister Martha and her version of The Traitor and backup singers Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen stepping up with a glorious Anthem. Only Nick Cave and, sadly, Anna and Kate McGarrigle are weak in the parade of spectacular voices singing spectacular songs.

Toward the end of the film, Leonard muses about touring again, a prospect that, he says on camera, gets better the more he and others in the scene drink. And then he whets our appetite for such a probably-not-to-happen tour by performing Tower of Song, dressed impeccably as his haberdasher father would have liked, and backed by U2. How much would the tickets for Leonard touring with U2 as a backing band scalp for? Let the bidding start at a thousand or so.

This is a beautiful celebration of a beautiful man. If you missed the film in theatres and have even the slightest interest in seeing it or in Leonard Cohen, you won't be disappointed. It delivers beyond expectations.

The DVD also includes Rufus Wainwright's tender and powerful version of "Hallelujah" -- a glaring omission on the CD and a definite highlight of the film.

The four bonus performances not in the film are:

"Tower of Song" - Martha Wainwright
"Bird on A Wire" -- Perla Batalla
"Famous Blue Raincoat" -- The Handsome Family
"Tonight Will Be Fine" -- Teddy Thompson

The "Conversation with Leonard Cohen" feature is good, but so short it's just a tease.

There is much poetry and courage in this film. Both the narrative and the performances are affirmations of life and humanity...done with great talent, humor, depth, craftsmanship, warts and all.

Leonard Cohen has a lot to say. In more ways than one, "I'm Your Man" adheres to and gives life to his musical and poetic vision.

I saw this movie in Leiden, the Netherlands, October 2006.
There was a film festival. All the artists who perform songs of Leonard Cohen in this movie do that in their own special way.Since I am from Holland I did not know all these performers (yet)!
Especially Antony, singing "if it be your will" touched me in the deepest parts of my soul! It made me cry ánd feel that I had accepted my life the way it is!
It is a shame (I knew it might) that I cannot play it in our DVD player since we have a different system in Europe.
On the PC it is okay though!!

Part documentary, part concert film, I'M YOUR MAN might have done better to stick to one or the other. Of course, tribute projects are always dicey in any event, and the concert organizers should be commended for bringing in (by and large) a new generation of Cohen interpreters. Nostalgia buffs like me might have secretly preferred Judy Collins, Jennifer Warnes and Buffy Sainte-Marie (whose inventiv, evocative "God Is Alive, Magic Is Afoot" is my own personal benchmark for originality in Cohen interpretations--mainly because it was a musical adaptation of a literary passage and not simply one of Cohen songs). So give the filmmakers AND the concert organizers their props for their sincere attempt to bring the work of one of popular music's darkest poets to a generation that seems to like it pop even darker.

And the roster of artists chosen for the tribute are all ones that I welcomed seeing in this context or ones whom have been reading good things about and was eager to hear. For us old-timers, we have a least one classic act, namely Kate and Anna McGarrigle, whom I have always loved. Unfortunately, it has come to light that Kate's children (with Loudon Wainwright) are the kind of arch, grating performers you just want to slap. (And I am not someone normally given to thoughts of violence.) Yes, they are talented--but also incredibly mannered and irritatingly full of themselves. And they are not alone. I can't recall the last time I've seen such an artsy-fartsy assemblage of musicians. (Although I will come to the defense of Nick Cave, who's taken a few knocks but whose take on "Suzanne" is, I think, pretty effective and as original as you could hope for.).

The film comes alive whenever Cohen himself is onscreen. If the other interviewees are almost too lavish in their praise, Cohen is himself almost too modest. But he is always engaging, and in his own concert clip, in which he is accompanied by U2 (and which closes out the film), he is just riveting. More of that would have made this effort a truly great concert film/music doc. Several years ago, there was another Cohen tribute project, a CD called I'M YOUR FAN, which was pretty good. This time out, we would have benefitted from less of the "fans" and more of the MAN.

Saw this film two days ago and I'm still emotionally drained.

I'd been expecting a simple concert film with Leonard Cohen performing old and new songs. That's not what I got. What I got was completely unexpected and I'm grateful for it.

This is a concert film, but the performers are others performing Cohen songs. Some of the people I'd heard of, but had never heard perform. I'll be purchasing cd's by all of them.

Leonard Cohen does perform one song at the end of the film; the entire film is a build-up to this performance. When the film ended, the entire audience sat in awed silence - we didn't want it to end.

I'll buy this dvd as soon as it's out - meanwhile I'll be listening to Antony albums.

There is something about Leonard Cohen's music that seems just right for me. Lian Lunson's 2006 documentary titled Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man is about the life and career of Canadian song lyricist/poet Leonard Cohen, and it helps verify to me that my lifetime fascination with Cohen is because he seems to write and sing as if he has no choice. It is just part of who he is and what he must do. Cohen writes songs like we would need to eat, it is id-driven; he simply needs it for sustenance. In some ways listening to, understanding, and connecting to Cohen's words and music is as equally an aggressive impulse for me as a fan.

He was inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame last night. I gave up on the legitimacy of the Rock N' Roll Hall a Fame a while ago but they gain points for honoring Cohen, perhaps this means they finally give Tom Waits his due? Anyway, rather than sit through boring brown-nosing of what I see as mediocre talents like John Mellencamp and Madonna, I decided to just watch Lou Reed gloat over how great Cohen is and then see Damien Rice belt out a nice version of Hallelujah (a song best covered by the late Jeff Buckley). Then I opted to throw in this little documentary. To my surprise I was in the prefect mood for it and so I decided to review it after a positive viewing experience. The first time I saw this it seemed to drag at a snail's pace but still kept my attention, so take that for what it is and know it is my primary justification for a less than perfect rating.

It is very important to note that this movie really is for Cohen fans, or at least fans of some of the artists who appear in the film singing his songs at a tribute show at the Sydney Opera House. In fact, if you like Cohen but not some of the performers you may be frustrated because the film shows primarily covers versions of his songs. Some of the complete performances include Nick Cave singing the title track, Beth Orton singing "Sisters of Mercy", Rufus Wainwright singing various tracks, and perhaps my favorite performance, Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons singing "If it Be Your Will" with great passion. Cohen also performs with U2 at the end of the film and several additional performances that appear on the film's soundtrack are available as extras on the DVD. If none of that interests you then you might want to pass, but I happen to think Cohen is one of best song lyricists I've ever heard and this documentary really tries to focus on how he writes and what inspires him.