Very few songs have acquired as much staying power and widespread appeal as Leonard Cohen‘s “Hallelujah”. Covered by several iconic artists such as Bob Dylan and Jeff Buckley, and with imagery and messages that appeal to both the religious and the secular, its rise as one of the most well-known and beloved pieces of music is nothing short of incredible. As such, it is quite easy to understand why the song is the subject of a new documentary. The new trailer for Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song teases the song’s rise to prominence and the complicated, winding journey Cohen went on both to write the song and get it out to the public. The film, which is set to debut at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival on June 12, will be released in theaters in New York and Los Angeles on July 1 before its nationwide release in the weeks after.
The trailer focuses on the man behind the iconic song, who is widely considered a mystery to music fans. Leonard Cohen was a spiritual seeker, constantly exploring religions outside his own. Before writing his magnum opus, he spent time as a monk, devoting hours of his time in a prayer hall all for the sake of spiritual discovery. This sets up Cohen’s perspective on “Hallelujah” – a song formed from a life of deep contemplation of the world’s mysteries. From there, the song became a priority for the musician and at one point, had 180 verses according to a former Rolling Stone reporter. Despite all his hard work though, the album was rejected by Columbia Records even though they already paid for it.
The second half of the trailer then sets up the phoenix rise of the song. Under a new publisher, the song slowly crept onto the charts thanks to covers from Buckley and John Cale, with “Hallelujah” even winding up in 2001’s hit animated film, Shrek. Testimonies from recording artists and other individuals for the documentary emphasize how different people were impacted by different versions of the song. From there, the rest was history. “Hallelujah” gained its own life and eventually reached iconic status after becoming a global phenomenon.
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song hails from The Galápagos Affair directors Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine. The film brings together a collection of rare footage and interviews to tell the often-overlooked story of Cohen and how his song went from flop to famous. Cohen himself approved the production of the film back in 2014, giving the crew access to some of his personal belongings including his notebooks and journals, as well as photographs courtesy of the Cohen Trust.
Aside from being set for Tribeca, the film also made successful rounds at the Venice Film Festival and Telluride Film Festival. It holds a very solid 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. Check out the trailer for the film below to get a glimpse of the story behind Cohen’s famous song before it comes to theaters in New York and Los Angeles on July 1:
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