Film/ Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr Leonard Cohen - poetry
By Narendra Kusnur
Film: Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr Leonard Cohen
Director: Donald Brittain
Genre: Documentary/ personality
Details: Available on myNK, a video-on-demand movie streaming platform
Rating: ****
On September 21, Leonard Cohen would have turned 85. We all know the Canadian legend, who passed away on November 7 2016, as an exceptional songwriter and powerful singer, giving us gems like ‘Suzanne’, ‘Sisters Of Mercy’, ‘Hallelujah’, ‘So Long Marianne’, ‘Famous Blue Raincoat’, ‘A Thousand Kisses Deep’ and ‘Dance Me To The End Of Love’. A lot has been written and documented about his music, and even his later admiration for Indian spirituality.
Growing up in Westmount, Quebec, Cohen began his early career as a poet, and for a brief while, turned to writing novels. His poetry is the subject of the 1965 documentary Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr Leonard Cohen, directed by Donald Brittain and Don Owen. Naturally, it gives us a fair understanding of his writing approach and style, which he eventually used in his songs.
Available exclusively on myNK, a video-on-demand film streaming platform, the 44-minute documentary is filled with anecdotes and humour. Much of the live footage was taken in 1964, when he was around 30. Don’t expect any Cohen tunes, as this was made two years before his first recording Songs Of Leonard Cohen. Nor is there anything about his early musical influences, though he had been an amateur musician through college. Probably, at that time, nobody imagined he would become a musical maestro. But there's a section showing him with a few friends and playing harmonica each time after he says something, and one shot of his singing his poem ‘Hold Me Hard Light, Soft Light Hold Me’.
“I was good at sports. I thus removed the cliche of the poet forever,” reveals Cohen, adding that he loved hockey and was the ninth best in the school team. In the voiceover commentary, he’s described as a constant wanderer who carried a little black notebook to jot down his observations. He had a certain attachment to younger people as he wanted to be the voice of the youth. His closest friends were a clothing businessman, a sculptor and a painter.
Cohen’s music fans have seen protest as one of his recurring themes. In his early career days, he would hang out at Ben’s, a nightspot in Montreal. “I rebelled by refusing to sleep, by turning night into day,” he says. In another interview, he claims that as a poet nothing bothered him in particular. Very vaguely, he says his only desire was to be in “a state of grace, to preserve the self."
By 1965, Cohen had published three poetry compilations – Let Us Compare Mythologies, The Spice-Box of Earth and Flowers For Hitler – and the novel The Favorite Game. None of these are mentioned directly here. Nor is his being influenced by writers like William Butler Yeats, Federico Garcia Lorca, Walt Whitman, Henry Miller and Irving Layton. But there is a description of how he followed I Ching, a Chinese book of oracles dating back to Confucius and recommended heavily by psychoanalyst Carl Jung.
Needless to say, Cohen’s poetry recitations form the most fascinating highlights of the film. His ‘Raven And Dove’ is a dedication to his grandfather who inspired him to write. He recites, “O send out the raven ahead of the dove, His blood on my arm as warm as a bird, His heart in my hand as heavy as lead, His eyes through my eyes shine brighter than love, O send out the raven ahead of the dove.”
There's one that goes, “So as the mist leaves no scar on the dark green hill, My body leaves no scar on you, nor ever will.” And a poem that begins, “I am with the hunters, hungry and shrewd; I am with the hunted, quick and soft and nude.” In ‘The Only Tourist In Havana Who Turns His Thoughts Homeward’, he uses subtle lines like “Let us encourage the dark races so that they can be lenient when they take over” and “Let us teach sex in the home to parents”.
While reciting in his younger days, Cohen doesn't display the booming baritone we later recognised. He's mostly shown to be dressed formally, except in shots where he's seen getting out of bed or entering a bath. There's a strong resemblance to early Dustin Hoffman – though those who have seen his later pictures often liken him to Al Pacino.
Other facets of Cohen’s personality are revealed. The commentator describes him as someone who was generous with his friendship and money. And there's this bit about why he developed a hatred towards meat. “(I see) no recognisable animal shapes but chunks of their bodies,” he says.
Despite the omissions mentioned earlier, the film is a must for hardcore Cohen fans who would like to follow every bit of his persona. Even for those adequately familiar with his music, it is something that would encourage you to delve deeper. Ladies and gentlemen, go for it.
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