Meeting Gorbachev (PG)****

Dirs: Werner Herzog, André Singer

With: George Schultz, James Baker, Lech Walesa, Horst Teltschik

Runtime: 90 minutes

FOR a man who played a crucial role in bringing the Cold War to an end and brought the curtain down on the Soviet empire, Mikhail Gorbachev cuts an unassuming figure in Werner Herzog’s documentary.

Humble, learned, with so much of importance to say about the past and present dangers from nuclear weapons, he is a fascinating figure. Herzog and co-director Andre Singer trace the former leader’s rise from his childhood as the son of peasants in the hungry Thirties, all the way to the top of the party. Herzog’s unique interviewing style, informed and occasionally eccentric, allows his subject, now in his late eighties, to shine. A must-see for anyone interested in the period who wants to know where it all went wrong since. They really don't make international statesmen and women like they used to.

GFT and Filmhouse, Edinburgh, till November 14