Werner Herzog interviews former Russian head of state Mikhail Gorbachev and key eyewitnesses to his influential place in late 20th Century history. The backbone of the film is made up of three in-depth interviews conducted across a six-month period.
86%77 reviews
Aided by enlightening, separate interviews with the likes of former Hungarian Prime Minister Miklos Nemeth, advisor to German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, Horst Teltschik, and ex-US Secretary of State George Shultz, Herzog sets about establishing Gorbachev's significance and legacy – as well as lessons that could be learned by today's more adversarial world leaders.
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Despite the film's obvious interest, it is a bit conceited and stately, a little like Wim Wenders' movie about Pope Francis, though without the sycophancy. Or almost.
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Herzog and Singer have assembled a riveting and moving portrait of Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet president and arguably the greatest living politician, guided by Herzog's mellifluous voice and gently probing interview style.
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Meeting Gorbachev is a hagiography, but it's unafraid to position itself as such; Herzog makes his case proudly and passionately.
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"Meeting Gorbachev," which Herzog co-directed with frequent collaborator André Singer, is less a journalistic endeavour than an admirer's tour - with room for blackly funny Herzog-ian touches in his choice of archival clip or patently demonic voice-over.
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Herzog shapes the film into a study in how world events often come down to quirks of character and circumstance. To another leader, glasnost or perestroika would not have seemed like obvious policies. A thaw might never have happened.
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"Meeting Gorbachev," though consistently engaging, is less a fireworks display than a fireside chat, and so feels curiously like an opportunity missed.
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It's ultimately because of Gorbachev's seeming unwillingness to fit the director's usual mold that Meeting Gorbachev is able to become such a different and engaging bio-doc.
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Herzog's film may not be the final word on Gorbachev, but it is affectionate and candid and leaves audiences in a melancholy mood about the sometimes short-lived nature of reform.
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