There are flashes of deep emotional resonance . . . But there’s also a huge amount of whiplash, as the wide-reaching documentary attempts to crystallize something as mercurial as this through performers, fans, lovers, haters, naysayers, believers.
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
Canada · 2021
1h 55m
Director Dayna Goldfine, Daniel Geller
Starring Leonard Cohen, Larry Sloman, Adrienne Clarkson, Judy Collins
Genre Documentary
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
This documentary weaves together three creative strands: Singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen and his times; his signature song, "Hallelujah," and its dramatic journey from record label reject to chart-topping hit; and moving testimonies from other artists for whom “Hallelujah” has become a personal touchstone.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The Hollywood Reporter by Dan Fienberg
If Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song is nourishing only to a certain point, there’s plenty of Leonard Cohen scholarship out there.
Gellar and Goldfine manage the tone expertly, inserting little jolts of humor to keep things from getting too reverent.
Does the film explain “Hallelujah?” Of course not – the song stubbornly resists explanation, because it’s so many different things and because there’s a beautiful mystery at its heart. Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song is smart enough to embrace that mystery and that beauty, and to know that there’s far more to Cohen than can be summed up in four, or seven, or even 150 verses.
This is filmmaking which echoes Cohen’s music style – it’s contemplative, searching and stripped back, but it can also be somewhat navel gazing, ponderous and very slow.
Hallelujah is one for the fans, thorough and informative, like a set of cinematic liner notes, largely content to marvel at the majesty of its subject and the vibrant afterlife of his work.
Users who liked this film also liked
The Cheat
(La Triche)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 1984
- Director Yannick Bellon
- Cast Victor Lanoux, Anny Duperey, Valérie Mairesse, Xavier Deluc, Michel Galabru, Roland Blanche
- Genre Thriller, Crime
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Barbie
She’s everything. He’s just Ken.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United States, United Kingdom • 2023
- Director Greta Gerwig
- Cast Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Will Ferrell, Emma Mackey, Issa Rae, America Ferrera
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Triangle of Sadness
A cruise for the ultra-wealthy goes awry when the ship sinks, leaving the survivors stranded on a desert island.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United States, Sweden, United Kingdom • 2022
- Director Ruben Östlund
- Cast Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Zlatko Burić, Dolly de Leon, Vicki Berlin, Henrik Dorsin
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand
Midsommar
Let the festivities begin.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United States, Sweden • 2019
- Director Ari Aster
- Cast Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter, Vilhelm Blomgren, Isabelle Grill
- Genre Horror, Drama, Mystery
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Kanopy
Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
Packed with stunts, this adrenaline-filled first installment marks the thrilling conclusion to Ethan Hunt's story in a two-part movie experience.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy, Norway, United Arab Emirates • 2023
- Director Christopher McQuarrie
- Cast Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Hayley Atwell, Esai Morales
- Genre Action, Adventure, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, MGM Plus, fuboTV, Paramount Plus, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Epix Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Spider-Man faces a crisis from across the multiverse.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United States, Iceland • 2021
- Director Jon Watts
- Cast Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei
- Genre Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
- Available on fuboTV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, AMC on Demand, FXNow
The Hand of God
(È stata la mano di Dio)
Based in part on the life of director Paolo Sorrentino, this film tells the story of a fateful encounter with soccer superstar Diego Maradona.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Italy • 2021
- Director Paolo Sorrentino
- Cast Filippo Scotti, Toni Servillo, Teresa Saponangelo, Luisa Ranieri, Marlon Joubert, Massimiliano Gallo
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
The Fall Guy
On his first job back after an almost career-ending injury, stuntman Colt Seavers is entangled in a larger criminal plot.
- • 2024
- Director David Leitch
- Cast Ryan Gosling
- Genre Action
- Available on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, FlixFling
Les Têtes givrées
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2023
- Director Stéphane Cazes
- Cast Clovis Cornillac, Claudia Tagbo, Marwa Merdjet Yahia, Malonn Lévana, Betina Flender, Shirel Nataf
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Aftersun
A woman reminisces on a holiday she took with her now-absent father over 20 years ago.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2022
- Director Charlotte Wells
- Cast Paul Mescal, Francesca Corio, Celia Rowlson-Hall, Sally Messham, Ayse Parlak, Sophia Lamanova
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix, fuboTV, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel, Paramount+ with Showtime, Netflix basic with Ads, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel , Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Kanopy, Hoopla