Meeting Gorbachev

Werner Herzog interviews Soviet Russia's last president Mikhail Gorbachev, while exploring his life & political career. I wished the documentary covered more about Russia's power struggle and internal issues at the time than just the big headlines about end of cold war & fall of berlin wall that we could probably get from online archives. But anyway, listening to Herzog's chilling voice with deadpan humor is always a joy. He is the best narrator in the world indeed (sorry, Morgan Freeman :D). I thought Herzog was pretty uncritical but that's probably to get more things out of Gorbochev and also the fact that he has lived for so long in divided Germany. But again, I would have liked to see a more challenging take on him that reflects his shortcomings along with achievements.

Rating of Subject (Gorbachov): 5 Rating of Herzog's lifetime body of work: 9/10 This hagiographic film: 3 stars at best

The simple fact is that in terms of the tearing off of the USSR control of over 100 million subjugated people in eastern Europe, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher and Lech Walesa were the major players, and Gorbachev was more or less swept along by events rather than participating steering them. Even historians on the left in Poland, Hungary, the Czech republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukrainian,e, Belorussian, the Baltic countries even Germany widely acknowledge this. Gorbachev ought to have been asked by Herzog if he would acknowledge the debt he and the citizens of former Soviet Russia have to the brave people in Lithuania, Ukraine, Poland, etc.

Don't get me wrong. Herzog is a genius. After Greenaway, he is my favorite. The imagery, the laconic way he narrates the surreal in his documentaries, and his crafting of his fictional work are without par. But he fails when he gets political. And he is at the very least, proffering up survivor bias, because, well, Gorbachev is alive and can spin his role, while Reagan and Thatcher are dead. Gorbachev makes so many frankly untrue statements unchallenged in "Meeting" that it is stunning.

Is meeting Gorbachev as bad as "Bad Lieutenant II" or "Salt and Fire"? NO. Anywhere near the level of Aguirre, Fitzcaraldo, Cave? also an emphatic: NO.

I had the good fortune to see this engrossing documentary on the opening night of the 2019 Trieste Film Festival - and what an appropriate choice it was to begin the 30th edition of the festival (also the 30th anniversary year of the fall of the Berlin Wall). Ignore the short-sighted comments of the reviewer who laughably awarded this 1/10 (probably working on behalf of the wretched Putin, who could never measure up to the stature of a political titan such as Gorbachev). Naturally, being one man's account of the part he played in such a volatile era, it's bound to be subjective. However, Herzog attempts to place Gorbachev's recollections in context, using some rarely seen archive footage in the process. The way Gorbachev was elevated to the top of the Soviet Union is seen here in almost comical terms, as his three predecessors - relics of the old Communist Party - are despatched in quick succession to their resting place at the foot of the Kremlin Wall. The real emotion comes towards the end when we learn about the final days of Mikhail's beloved - and much-admired - wife, Raisa. It's a truly fascinating look at a remarkable time in world history, and seeing again some of the heavyweight political players of the past only goes to emphasise the paucity of great leaders the world is suffering at the moment. The 90 minutes of this film passed quickly - always a good sign.

Werner Herzog, a co-director of this documentary (along with André Singer), interviews former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev over a period of six months. Excerpts of the interviews are included in the film along with footage regarding Gorbachev's term as leader of the former Soviet Union during which massive, positive changes took place in the 1980s and early 1990s. "Meeting Gorbachev" is a UK/Germany/USA co-production and is in four languages: English, Russian, German, and Polish.

It is great to see a film highlighting one of the greatest times in history of the past forty years. In addition to being a primary player in ending oppressive Communism in eastern Europe, Gorbachev had worked with US president Ronald Reagan to limit nuclear weapons and end the Cold War of that time period.

The film is a great nostalgia trip for anyone who recalls this era - and for those wishing desperately that the current world leaders could come close to emulating those during the era covered in the film. One of the most striking images was a human chain across all three Baltic states in a peaceful protest against Soviet oppression. There are also moments of cheeky humour in reflecting the stubbornness of hard-line Communists who insisted that only those born before the Russian Revolution were worthy of being Soviet leaders. (Three funerals of leaders took place in a short four-year period as a result.)

The man and his history are certainly worthy of a tribute but the film doesn't live up to its subjects. It begins to sag in the last half-hour. In addition, Herzog's voice (and perhaps, his ego) grates as a narrator/interviewer as much as it did in "Grizzly Man" (2005). While his English is good, the film would have improved with someone else with better narration skills. Also, near the end, Herzog asks Gorbachev embarrassingly stupid questions regarding Gorbachev's dealing with the absence of his beloved wife, Raisa, who died in 1999.

But the project was made and it's a good start in returning this great man to the spotlight. Hopefully, another filmmaker will up the ante and make a better film than this one on the same subject. And high praise must also be given to Gorbachev for being so strong and astute in his late eighties. - dbamateurcritic.

Interesting in parts but largely devoid of meaningful conversation. A few headlines on various topics is all you get most of the time.