The Cinematheque

Vancouver Premiere

“One of Herzog’s most pertinent and fascinating documentaries … The precarious nature of ​‘progress’ is one of its most provocative themes.”

Stephen Farber, Hollywood Reporter

In this cinematic superpower summit, German film titan Werner Herzog meets former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to discuss some of the most momentous events of the late twentieth century, and Gorbachev’s central place in them. Assembled from three interviews conducted over six months, the film recounts Gorbachev’s remarkable ascent from the humblest of origins—he was born to peasants, including an illiterate mother, in an impoverished provincial backwater—to world-changing figure, an extraordinary man who rose through a corrupted system and, in seeking to reform it, swept it away. A wealth of archival footage is used to illustrate what is both a fascinating history lesson and an inspiring personal story. Herzog’s well-known wry wit livens but never overpowers the proceedings. Co-directed by André Singer, Meeting Gorbachev is as riveting as it is bittersweet, and will surely leave one rueing the current state of great-power leadership.

“A nostalgic, grateful, and surprisingly tender lament … Werner Herzog has finally met his match.”

David Ehrlich, Indiewire

“Powerful … One of the year’s best docs and one of the very best non-fiction works Herzog’s given us.”

Jordan Ruimy, The Playlist