REVIEW: Werner Herzog meets ‘Gorbachev’
Photo: Meeting Gorbachev features co-director Werner Herzog interviewing the former general secretary of the USSR, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev. Photo courtesy of 1091 Media / Provided by Film Forum with permission.
Werner Herzog is perhaps the most prolific documentarian of the last 50 years. He has pumped out so many thoughtful, engaging portraits of life, society and peculiarity that an entire library of his films would take up a gargantuan amount of space. From Into the Inferno to Cave of Forgotten Dreams to Grizzly Man, his movies are interesting, strange and dynamic.
His latest is called Meeting Gorbachev, which features his taped interviews with Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, former general secretary of the USSR. Herzog, co-directing with André Singer, has captured these interviews, which are both political and personal, while Gorbachev nears his 88th birthday and faces some uphill health battles.
Still, the indomitable spirit of the former leader is undoubtable throughout these 90 minutes. He’s affable and strong, mimicking the personality he displayed to the world while head of his country.
Herzog focuses much of his attention on Gorbachev’s revolutionary part in ending the Cold War and the policy of Perestroika, which saw the USSR’s economic and governmental system transform with the changing dynamics of late-20th century global politics. Although the full vision of Perestroika has not been realized, the leader made profound changes and opened up his country to outside influences for the first time in decades. The fate of Eastern Europe, in particular Germany, will forever be influenced by Gorbachev’s policies.
The documentarian also summarizes Gorbachev’s upbringing, the love he had for his wife and what he thought of President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Throughout this exposé, Herzog looks at his subject with admiring eyes, which means there are few probing questions. This softball approach is a bit unfortunate, in particular given the timing of HBO’s Chernobyl miniseries, which rightfully asks difficult questions about the USSR’s response to the nuclear disaster in the Ukraine. Herzog, in turn, lets Gorbachev answer with a quick response and little culpability. The doc’s overall running time hurts those viewers who would like to go deeper into some of these difficult issues.
Still, Herzog’s thoughtful narration and interesting questions have their place, and he obviously earns the respect of Gorbachev, which leads to more engaged responses, especially on the leader’s relationship with his family and hometown. This allows audiences to view the man behind the monumental plans, a look behind the curtain at the architect and his work.
Audiences will also appreciate the small sample of outside experts who are able to contextualize some of Gorbachev’s assertions and provide historical perspective — although a 10-hour film would be needed to understand all of these dynamics and moving parts.
Students of the Cold War will learn some information from the documentary, but the real revelation comes from Herzog’s ability to listen, respect and follow up with questions that put a subject at ease and comfortable enough to reveal more and more and more. Meeting Gorbachev will stand the test of time as that rare opportunity to play fly-on-the-wall to a fascinating conversation of historical import.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Meeting Gorbachev. 2019. Directed by Werner Herzog and André Singer. Running time: 90 minutes. Featuring Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev. Click here for more information. Rating: 
