Quartile rating: 6.5/10 · 1 rating
Mikhail Gorbachev, former president of the Soviet Union, sits down with filmmaker Werner Herzog to discuss his many achievements. Topics include the talks to reduce nuclear weapons, the reunification of Germany and the dissolution of his country.
Werner Herzog's intimate documentary offers a candid and surprisingly warm portrait of Gorbachev in his twilight years. The conversational format benefits from Herzog's characteristic philosophical curiosity, drawing out reflections on perestroika, nuclear disarmament, and the Soviet collapse that feel personal rather than encyclopedic. The cinematography is functional and talking-head conventional, lacking visual ambition. The film's novelty lies primarily in Herzog's singular interviewing presence and his evident admiration for his subject, though the documentary format itself is unremarkable. The ending carries a melancholic weight as Gorbachev reflects on his legacy and personal losses, but doesn't rise to something truly resonant or conclusive. A respectable historical document elevated by an unusual filmmaker-subject dynamic.