HALLELUJAH: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song

 

I didn't know much about Leonard Cohen until I saw an exhibit about him at the Jewish Museum in April 2019.  After that, I bought a few of his CDs for my collection.  I saw an advertisement for a new film, HALLELUJAH: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song, playing at the Walter Reed Theater at Lincoln Center.  I wanted to see it, so I traveled to Manhattan for the first time in about 2 1/2 years to see a movie.

The film was biographical in nature but focused on the song, Hallelujah.  Critic Roger Ebert described the documentary as unfocused, but it succeeded in showing how that song was interpreted by several other artists. I realize that a recording artist can have an impact even without chart success.  Leonard Cohen never had a single on the Billboard Top 100.  His biggest "hit" album, Songs of Leonard Cohen peaked at #63.