| Meeting Gorbachev | |
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 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Werner Herzog André Singer |
| Produced by | Svetlana Palmer Lucki Stipetic |
| Cinematography | Richard Blanshard Yuri Barak |
| Edited by | Michael Ellis |
| Music by | Nicholas Singer |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | The Orchard (North America)[2] Altitude Film Distribution (United Kingdom and Ireland)[3] A&E Networks (International) |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
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| Box office | $252,203[3][1] |
Meeting Gorbachev is a 2018biographicaldocumentary film directed byWerner Herzog andAndré Singer about the life ofMikhail Gorbachev, the eighth and last leader of theSoviet Union. The film features three interviews between Herzog and Gorbachev, conducted over the span of six months, and had its world premiere at theTelluride Film Festival on September 1, 2018.[5]
The film ends with Gorbachev reciting the poem "I Go Out On The Road Alone" byMikhail Lermontov.[6]
The film premiered at theTelluride Film Festival on September 1, 2018. It was then screened at theToronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2018, where it received wider press coverage.[7]
Onreview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 77 reviews, and an average rating of 7.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Meeting Gorbachev plays to filmmaker Werner Herzog's endlessly inquisitive strengths -- and reveals the fascinating story of a pivotal political figure."[8] David Ehrlich ofIndieWire "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."[9] While overall positive, Jessica Kiang ofVariety criticized the film, saying that the film, "though consistently engaging, is less a fireworks display than a fireside chat, and so feels curiously like an opportunity missed."[7]
