Mikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1990-1991, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for his leadership role in ending the Cold War and promoting peaceful international relations, came across as a genuine humanitarian and champion for social democracy in this documentary by Werner Herzog and Andre Singer. Herzog, an unabashed admirer of Gorbachev, takes a political and personal look at his subject's life in a moving, informative character study through three interviews he conducted, as well as interviews with former Hungarian Prime Minister Miklós Németh; Lech Watesa, the first democratically-elected President of Poland; former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz, among others.
I'm not an expert on life in the Soviet Union, so I come at this topic with limits to my understanding, however, while watching the film, I repeatedly wanted to give Gorbachev a hug or at least a hearty pat on the back. Elected General Secretary, the de facto head of government, in 1985, he was the instigator of perestroika (restructuring) and glastnost, (openness and transparency), Gorbachev tried to reform his country with a modicum of safety; he was proud of his positive political accomplishments including his role in the fall of the Iron Curtain, the reduction of the world's short and medium range nuclear weapons, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany.
Gorbachev rejected the idea - expressed by George Bush - that the U.S. had "won" the Cold War, arguing that both sides cooperated to end the conflict, and everyone won in this outcome.
The film introduces the audience to Gorbachev's humble childhood in the rural Stavropol region of Russia. His father, a WWII veteran who fought on the frontlines against Germany, told his son, "We fought until we ran out of fight, that's how you must live," and it seems that the son took this advice to heart. Through clips and narrative we are shown a young Gorbachev as he walked from village to village to meet the people and gather information in his quest to revolutionize farming equipment. As a political leader, his visions included a Charter for new Europe with a focus on a peaceful future. The last part of the film is a study in grief as Mikhail shared his raw, abiding anguish regarding the loss of his beloved wife, Raisa, decades ago. "When she died, my life ended," he says.
Gorbachev unexpectedly became leader of the Soviet Union after three of his predecessors died rather quickly in succession. His term was brief. While he was on holiday in 1991, a coup led by Boris Yeltzin overthrew the government. Gorbachev, with a straight, sorrowful gaze commented, "People like politicans like Yeltzin, the reckless types."
The film refreshed my memory and provided details that I never knew, including a window into Gorbachev's own views on his work and life; I found it fascinating, tragic, inspiring, and also sad due to the lack of this quality of world leadership today.
I did not know that Gorbachev was a folk singer, but indeed he is. He recited this poem in a breathy whispher to close the film:
I Go Out On The Road Alone by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov
"Alone I set out on the road; The flinty path is sparkling in the mist; The night is still. The desert harks to God, And star with star converses.
The vault is overwhelmed with solemn wonder The earth in cobalt aura sleeps. . . Why do I feel so pained and troubled? What do I harbor: hope, regrets?
I see no hope in years to come, Have no regrets for things gone by. All that I seek is peace and freedom! To lose myself and sleep!
But not the frozen slumber of the grave... I'd like eternal sleep to leave My life force dozing in my breast Gently with my breath to rise and fall..."
I highly recommend this film.
I'm not an expert on life in the Soviet Union, so I come at this topic with limits to my understanding, however, while watching the film, I repeatedly wanted to give Gorbachev a hug or at least a hearty pat on the back. Elected General Secretary, the de facto head of government, in 1985, he was the instigator of perestroika (restructuring) and glastnost, (openness and transparency), Gorbachev tried to reform his country with a modicum of safety; he was proud of his positive political accomplishments including his role in the fall of the Iron Curtain, the reduction of the world's short and medium range nuclear weapons, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany.
Gorbachev rejected the idea - expressed by George Bush - that the U.S. had "won" the Cold War, arguing that both sides cooperated to end the conflict, and everyone won in this outcome.
The film introduces the audience to Gorbachev's humble childhood in the rural Stavropol region of Russia. His father, a WWII veteran who fought on the frontlines against Germany, told his son, "We fought until we ran out of fight, that's how you must live," and it seems that the son took this advice to heart. Through clips and narrative we are shown a young Gorbachev as he walked from village to village to meet the people and gather information in his quest to revolutionize farming equipment. As a political leader, his visions included a Charter for new Europe with a focus on a peaceful future. The last part of the film is a study in grief as Mikhail shared his raw, abiding anguish regarding the loss of his beloved wife, Raisa, decades ago. "When she died, my life ended," he says.
Gorbachev unexpectedly became leader of the Soviet Union after three of his predecessors died rather quickly in succession. His term was brief. While he was on holiday in 1991, a coup led by Boris Yeltzin overthrew the government. Gorbachev, with a straight, sorrowful gaze commented, "People like politicans like Yeltzin, the reckless types."
The film refreshed my memory and provided details that I never knew, including a window into Gorbachev's own views on his work and life; I found it fascinating, tragic, inspiring, and also sad due to the lack of this quality of world leadership today.
I did not know that Gorbachev was a folk singer, but indeed he is. He recited this poem in a breathy whispher to close the film:
I Go Out On The Road Alone by Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov
"Alone I set out on the road; The flinty path is sparkling in the mist; The night is still. The desert harks to God, And star with star converses.
The vault is overwhelmed with solemn wonder The earth in cobalt aura sleeps. . . Why do I feel so pained and troubled? What do I harbor: hope, regrets?
I see no hope in years to come, Have no regrets for things gone by. All that I seek is peace and freedom! To lose myself and sleep!
But not the frozen slumber of the grave... I'd like eternal sleep to leave My life force dozing in my breast Gently with my breath to rise and fall..."
I highly recommend this film.