'Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man' spotlights a remarkable artist

As U2 singer Bono (one of Cohen's countless celebrity fans) says in the documentary/concert film "Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man," "he makes something beautiful out of the blackness."

Lionsgate 'Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man' B The verdict: If you're going to make a movie about Cohen, this is a fine way to go about it. Director: Lian Lunson Starring: Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton, Jarvis Cocker Run time: 104 minutes Release date: June 21, 2006 Rating: PG-13 for some sex-related material. A Cohen primer •  At 71, Leonard Cohen is still touching us with his mind. •  Singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright is among the reverent "children of Leonard Cohen." On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Blackness is a key word in Cohen's work. He sings of "heroes in the seaweed," of life as "a leaf that the seasons tear off and condemn," of Joan of Arc's plea to the waiting flames.

Director Lian Lunson has combined interviews with the man himself, old family photos, etc. (the usual documentary detritus) with footage from a 2005 tribute concert at Sydney Opera House, Came So Far for Beauty.

Some came farther than others. Australian Nick Cave lends his no-frills intensity to "I'm Your Man." Montreal native Rufus Wainwright dances (part samba, part tango) his way through "Everybody Knows." British-born Antony brings a Saint Vitus' dance tremolo and an end-of-his-rope ecstasy to "If It Be Your Will."

Not every performance is successful. British artist Beth Orton sings "Sisters of Mercy" with a hushed purity, but I could have done without the quasi-religious chants and images that accompany her. Further, her rendition can't possibly compete with Cohen's own version, heard on the soundtrack of Robert Altman's 1971 film "McCabe & Mrs. Miller."

But then, everyone will have his or her favorite, his or her least favorite.

At the end, Cohen himself lip-syncs "Tower of Song" with a little backup band called U2, and we're reminded yet again no one can emulate his gravel-voiced soulfulness. The bits of personal background he shares are humorous and self-deprecating. For instance, he tells us he was raised in Montreal on "synagogue and Superman," and when he moved to Manhattan in the '60s he thought to himself, "This is almost as good as Montreal."

Though you can quibble with a few of Lunson's artistic touches — what's with the recurring red curtain-like sparkles? — her film is admirably inclusive, likely to satisfy both longtime fans and Cohen neophytes. Most of all, it's just a privilege and a pleasure to spend time with this material ... and this man.