Such is also the spirit of the informative and moving documentary Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love, both joyful like his megahit Halleluiah and woeful like his song of goodbye to his muse Marianne, a Norwegian beauty capable of inspiring transcendent music. If you are familiar with Canadian Leonard Cohen's work, you'll recognize the deep voice singing lyrics of poetic joy and lamentations mostly about women in his life. Marianne herself is present in the story but mostly in a back handed compliment kind of way. All in all this is a rather gentle sideways look at a significant relationship but understandably it is overbalanced by the the celebrity aspects of the story. Coverage of the 5 or 6 years in a Buddhist monastery definitely hints at a rebalancing of Cohens' personal life and perspectives. In his dying moments Leonard recognised the value of his connection with Marianne. What lifts this film is the redemption towards the end when we see the famous letter from Leonard to Marianne. But seems to me if that were really true - the story would have turned out quite differently. They felt like they were being understood. The myth of the unreachable poet seems to have attracted considerable numbers of women to the Cohen fan club. This much thoughtless behaviour seems highly paradoxical. Archival footage is used but the viewpoint most of the time is very much the male point of view. In many ways this film could have been much better if we had got past the headlines. Watch out forAviva Layton who seems to be uncredited but she deserves better. A number of the interviewees are just plain great. Despite all of that it somehow brings the back story of Marianne and Leonard into focus in a very sweet way towards the end of the film. The assumption is that the cultural moments of the day ( and the copious drugs) have blurred the stories in many many ways. It also leaves a great deal unsaid and hazy. It is about Marianne who clearly contributed much to Cohens life on more than one level. In some ways this film can be seen as an extended victim impact report. (I saw Cohen in concert only 1 time, at the 2009 Coachella music fest, and what an unforgettable set that was.) If you are a Leonard Cohen fan and always have been curious about that mysterious Marianne from "So Lone, Marianne", I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD, or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion. I have no idea how an "average" viewer might watch this documentary, but as a life-long fan of Cohen, I thought this documentary was just lovely from start to finish. The Friday early evening screening where I saw this at was not attended well (exactly 5 people in total). "Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love" opened out of the blue this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati, and I immediately just had to go see it. of the film are a true emotional gut punch (as we know all along that these two passed away just months apart in 2016). The focus of the film is the long and complicated relationship/friendship between Marianne and Leonard. Hence, while there are some music and performance clips, they are clearly secondary only. Please note: this is NOT a bio-documentary of Leonard Cohen. We hear from Marianne (mostly through Norwegian interviews) and Leonard themselves extensively, but others comment as well (check out Judy Collins and, even better, the extensive comments from Ron Cornelius, Cohen's band mate who sounds remarkably like Bill Clinton). I was amazed at all of the archive footage that was unearthed from the 60s and 70s that paint such a vivid picture of that era (including footage from Broomfield himself and from D.A. So this documentary was quite revealing in many ways. As a life-long fan of Leonard Cohen, I knew of Marianne vaguely (of course through the song "So Long, Marianne") and knew of their relationship but really nothing more than that. Here he delves into the long relationship between Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen, who became Leonard's lover and muse. Couple of comments: this is the latest documentary from director Nick Broomfield, best known for his "Kurt & Courtney" documentary in the late 90s. We then go to the "1970 Isle of Wright" festival, where Cohen asks the massive crowd "Marianne, are you there? Where are you, Marianne?" We then go to the early 60s in Hydra, Greece, where Marianne was living and Leonard, a struggling writer, has just arrived, and they meet by chance. As the movie opens, we are "July 28, 2016" and the BBC informs us that Marianne has passed away. "Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love" (2019 release 102 min.) is a documentary about the (in)famous relationship between singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen and Norwegian muse Marianne Ihlen.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |