Amber Wilkinson
Eye for Film
Apr 3, 2023
3/5
The end result could do with less tangent and more of the gent himself.
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Alistair Lawrence
Common Sense Media
Mar 15, 2023
3/5
Some of the film's most disarming moments involve Cohen's early years, as he initially struggles with the transition from poet to folk musician, then again as his U.S. label refuses to release the original version of the titular song.
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Glenn Dunks
The Film Experience
Feb 2, 2023
The problem here is that Hallelujah, despite a rather unwieldly two hour runtime, spends far too long on things of little importance whenever it threatens to really dig into some of the thornier issues that the song and its commercialized success raise.
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Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality & Practice
Nov 21, 2022
5/5
The origin story of the spiritual song that has swept the world as a modern prayer.
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Michael J. Casey
Boulder Weekly
Nov 3, 2022
3/5
Directors Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine assemble an impressive collection of interviews, a slew of archival material and more renditions of “Hallelujah” than you ever knew you needed.
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John McDonald
Australian Financial Review
Sep 22, 2022
The song’s hymn-like, singalong nature has made it into one of the most all-purpose numbers of all time, used to invest any occasion with a touch of the sacred.
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Linda Marric
The Jewish Chronicle
Sep 20, 2022
4/5
While there isn’t much here that fans won’t know, the film still makes for a riveting watch. As for those who are less familiar with the song or its original writer, this might prove to be a genuine eye-opener.
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Xan Brooks
Observer (UK)
Sep 18, 2022
3/5
If this thorough, respectful documentary largely leaves its subject’s mystery intact, that’s probably for the best and what the singer would have wanted.
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Kevin Maher
The Times (UK)
Sep 16, 2022
4/5
... A layered portrait of Cohen’s life (from poet to rock star to monk to comeback king) while always returning to the song that defined him.
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Brian Viner
Daily Mail (UK)
Sep 16, 2022
4/5
For Cohen fans, it is... full of treasures.
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Alistair Harkness
Scotsman
Sep 14, 2022
4/5
A film that subtly reclaims the song for Cohen and his fans while acknowledging its importance to those who know nothing about who wrote it or why.
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Alison Gillmor
Winnipeg Free Press
Aug 30, 2022
4/5
The final tribute by k.d. lang – emotionally searing, musically soaring — made me weep. I wish there had been more.
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Robin Holabird
KUNR (Reno, NV)
Aug 26, 2022
The songs hold up to the sustained study by their documentarians.
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Loren King
Newport This Week (RI)
Aug 11, 2022
The documentary entertainingly charts the song’s subsequent journey from obscure but beloved ballad to an overused emotion trigger in movies, at weddings and at funerals.
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Al Alexander
The Patriot Ledger
Aug 10, 2022
B+
The directors can’t seem to decide if they want the spotlight to be on Cohen or his signature song. The result is a tad frustrating, but the overall film is so entertaining, why not just throw up your arms and shout, “Hallelujah”?
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Craig D. Lindsey
Nashville Scene
Aug 8, 2022
...the history of “Hallelujah” is just a small but fascinating section of Hallelujah, which spends most of its run time recounting Cohen’s life in a respectful, restrained manner.
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Micheal Compton
Bowling Green Daily News
Aug 5, 2022
B
A film that works as both a retrospective for Cohen and an examination of the power of music.
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Adam Graham
Detroit News
Aug 5, 2022
B+
... An engrossing portrait of an artist through the lens of his most famous and enduring work.
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John Urbancich
JMuvies
Aug 5, 2022
3.5/5
Even with versions and tributes from artists such as Jeff Buckley, John Cale, Judy Collins, Brandi Carlile and many more, 'The Man' himself remains the ultimate star.
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Douglas Davidson
Elements of Madness
Aug 5, 2022
3.5/5
The art belongs to us all, given new meaning as it travels from person to person, land to land, beloved with or without awareness of its source. If Geller and Goldfine are correct, then it’s not a broken hallelujah, but a reaffirmation of one ...
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