Episode 731 - Marianne and Leonard: Words of Love (2019)

Hi everyone!

We’re closing out the week with another entry in our series, Under the Kanopy. Kanopy is a library and university funded streaming service that grants card holders six free streams a month, featuring a combination of classic, mainstream, independent, and international films. They currently have streaming deals with some of our favorite distributors, like A24 and Kino Lorber, which offer the critically acclaimed, if not commercially successful films.

Today’s film covers one of my favorite artists, both while growing up, and in retrospect as I have time to learn about him. Leonard Cohen was a Canadian writer, probably best known for his musical work, and especially a track called “Hallelujah”, which was used in almost hilarious fashion in Zach Snyder’s WATCHMEN. Today’s documentary looks at his time with early muse Marianne Ilhen, and the development of his music during their time on the isle of Hydra in the 1960s, long before heartache, depression, and disease crept in throughout his life. I’ll have my thoughts on MARIANNE AND LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE in a moment. For a few other films in this same series, check out HAVE A NICE DAY (Episode #724), TO DUST (Episode #717), and TRANSFORMER (Episode #710).

Before the review, we’ll have a promo from the Top 5 from Fighting podcast. Every episode, Greg and Mike discuss a wide range of topics, and when they disagree, you know they’re gonna fight about it! Always fun, but always contentious, you don’t want to miss a single episode. You can find them on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @Top5forFighting. They have been some of our biggest supporters from last year. Shout out to their Marketing Angel. You know who you are!

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Here we go!

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Today’s movie is MARIANNE AND LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE (2019), the documentary film from long-time documentarian Nick Broomfield. The film follows the troubled relationship between writer/singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen and his muse, Marianne Ihlen, from their meeting on the isle of Hydra to their ultimate breakup over Cohen’s obsession with his musical career.

No spoilers.

We have a tradition in our household of giving books to each other for Christmas. I try to find a book or two for One Movie Spouse and One Movie Spawn, and they try to do the same for me and each other. I have a list of books I’m always looking for, which I send along ahead of time. But Amy always tries to find a book that I might enjoy, but didn’t ask for, and this year that was Leonard Cohen’s “The Flame”, a collection of his old writings, song lyrics, and last works, compiled after his death in 2016. I have been a fan of Leonard Cohen’s music, having been turned on to him after picking up a Greatest Hits CD at the library a while back, and realizing I knew a lot more of his songs than I thought. But I didn’t know much more than the music, and even less about the man himself. So, I thought it was a fun treat to get to do just that. And ironically, after I finished reading a book by Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, I dove right into “The Flame” for an education.

Subconsciously, I think what appealed to me about Leonard Cohen is how similar his spiritual outlook was to that of Jack Kerouac. I got a taste of that while reading “The Flame”, but the parallels really hit home while watching MARIANNE AND LEONARD. Both had roots in Canada, came from middle-class homes with strong religious influences, both fancied themselves as writers, and spent their lives travelling to find inspiration for their writing. In fact, if there’s any major difference, it’s the choice of drugs and location. Kerouac traveled around the United States, looking for his inspiration, fueled mostly by alcohol, marijuana, and speed. But Cohen eventually found a home on the isle of Hydra, where he took massive amounts of speed, but also acid, while writing poetry and novels, and with the help of who would be his greatest muse, Marianne Ilhen.

When people think about the counter-culture of the 1960s, they generally think of the group as one homogenous unit, a stereotype that exists to this very day. Beatniks were not the same hippies, nor were yippies the same as communists. While these populations might have been pushing back against the mostly homogenous representation of society and culture appearing on the radio and television, each group had different reasons and approaches to that pushback. MARIANNE AND LEONARD looks at one dynamic corner of that world, secluded away on Hydra, where the two would meet and eventually fall in love. Marianne Ilhen was running away from a life she didn’t want in Norway, with her son in tow. Leonard Cohen was looking for inspiration, and found it in Marianne