search

E-Mail This Story

Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, Sun October 1
2006, 7:00 & 9:15

A bona fide concert film and the most literary film of the year

Enter the info below and we'll send the story to your friend.

Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man shows at IFS on Sun October 1, 2006, 7:00 & 9:15

Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man
A bona fide concert film and the most literary film of the year
Sun October 1
2006, 7:00 & 9:15

NOTE: Change of venue! We're expecting a big turnout on Sunday for Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man. Therefore, we're going to show the movie in Muenzinger Auditorium instead of the Film Studies Theater. Muenzinger is a much bigger venue and will accommodate the crowd. We hope to see you there! -- Pablo Kjolseth, IFS Director

Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man is a bona fide concert film, a record of the musical tribute to the singer/writer staged at the Sydney Opera House in 2005. But the movie, which derives much of its impact from interviews with Cohen, also qualifies as the most literary film of the year.

The 71-year-old Canadian, whose songs have become an indelible part of the musical landscape, comes off as a true poet. I mean this as the deepest of compliments. Cohen appears to be as much literary man as pop icon.

Not only does Cohen, who has the look and unflappable demeanor of Star Trek's Mr. Spock, write eloquent lyrics, but his conversation can dig as deep as his voice. His songs, though often steeped in pain, have a meditative quiet at the center, a sense of calm in the middle of many storms.

To make the movie, director Lian Lunson mixes interviews with Cohen with performances of his music and a variety of archival footage. Among the movie's performers: Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright and Kate and Anna McGarrigle.

We hear from some of the singers, as well as from Bono and The Edge of U2. Both musicians accompany Cohen in the film's final performance of Tower of Song, regrettably the only tune that Cohen performs.

Although much of the film's commentary sustains the note of praise sounded in music producer Hal Willner's Sydney tribute, we do learn quite a bit about this complex, introspective man. Cohen's father gave him a taste for suits, and he has a reputation as a ladies man (undeserved, he says). He's a slow writer. He spent time in a Zen monastery on Mount Baldy. He's able to look back on his life without undue pride in his accomplishments.

Some of Cohen's songs are personal: In Chelsea Hotel No. 2, for example, he looks back at his relationship with singer Janis Joplin and expresses regret over having written a song about a night of sex.

Lunson's filmmaking probably won't knock you out, and not every rendition of Cohen's songs will satisfy every taste. Talk about words far outweighs any discussion of music. But Cohen doesn't seem one to linger over failure, and I'm going to follow suit. I'm Your Man may be as close as we'll ever get to Cohen on film. (R. Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News)

To see a trailer and read a review, visit InternationalFilmSeries.com.

Tickets

10 films for $60 with punch card
$9 general admission. $7 w/UCB student ID, $7 for senior citizens
$1 discount to anyone with a bike helmet
Free on your birthday! CU Cinema Studies students get in free.

Parking

Pay lot 360 (now only $1/hour!), across from the buffalo statue and next to the Duane Physics tower, is closest to Muenzinger. Free parking can be found after 5pm at the meters along Colorado Ave east of Folsom stadium and along University Ave west of Macky.

RTD Bus

Park elsewhere and catch the HOP to campus

International Film Series

(Originally called The University Film Commission)
Established 1941 by James Sandoe.

First Person Cinema

(Originally called The Experimental Cinema Group)
Established 1955 by Carla Selby, Gladney Oakley, Bruce Conner and Stan Brakhage.

C.U. Film Program

(AKA The Rocky Mountain Film Center)
First offered degrees in filmmaking and critical studies in 1989 under the guidance of Virgil Grillo.

Celebrating Stan

Created by Suranjan Ganguly in 2003.

C.U. Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts

Established 2017 by Chair Ernesto Acevedo-Muñoz.

Thank you, sponsors!
Boulder International Film Festival
Department of Cinema Studies & Moving Image Arts

Looking for a gift for a friend?
Buy a Frequent Patron Punch Card for $60 at any IFS show. With the punch card you can see ten films (a value of $90).

We Want Your Feedback

Cox & Kjølseth
: Filmmaker Alex Cox & Pablo Kjølseth discuss film topics from their own unique perspectives.

Z-briefs
: Pablo and Ana share Zoom-based briefs on what's currently playing at IFS

Search IFS schedules

Index of visiting artists

Mon Apr 1, 2024

Hot Shots! Part Deux

At Muenzinger Auditorium

Sat Apr 20, 2024

Super Mario Bros.

At Muenzinger Auditorium

more on 35mm...