Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé | Excellence has a name

If all concert films are not necessarily relevant, Beyoncé knew how to give her tour Renaissance a superior intention by creating a feature film which not only allows us to marvel at this legendary spectacle, but also opens a window on the artistic, assertive and human vision of the artist.

Everything is there. The film first shows us the concert from an angle to which no spectator would have had access. He also shows us behind the scenes of the production of this larger-than-life tour. It finally gives us access to Beyoncé’s approach, her thoughts, her ambition, her vulnerability and her strength, as an artist and as a woman.

We attended one of the concerts in Toronto last summer and the film allowed us to discover elements of the show that had escaped us at Rogers Arena. We have a privileged view of its costumes, its choreography, its decor, its staging. Because it is filmed during multiple performances, we get access to the best of the show, including participation from Kendrick Lamar, Megan Thee Stallion, Diana Ross and Blue Ivy (the daughter of Beyoncé and Jay Z). Some shots even seem to have been taken outside of concerts, they are so clear and tightly framed.

The attention Beyoncé puts into crafting her performance is inspiring, especially when you get the chance to see it up close. We can feel to what extent the artist is involved in the colossal work that represents the creation of these two and a half hours of concert during which so much happens.

Of course, this is his film. She wrote, directed and produced it. She is the one who tells the story. She portrays herself, which is something to keep in mind.

This show and this film is her. But Beyoncé wanted to highlight the team around her. We understand a little better the extent of the work of the technicians and dancers who accompany him on stage. We learn how the show was built over a period of four years, both practically and artistically.

A celebration

And then, the film Renaissance allows viewers to see a little of Beyoncé in her personal space. In his own words, of course, but from a perspective that feels authentic. By showing herself vulnerable, she shows that even “Queen Bey” is human, which we perhaps sometimes forget. She expresses the fact that she is a mother above all. Let her suffer for her art. That everything is a little more difficult when you are a black woman, even when you are Beyoncé. That she feels more free and at peace than ever, at 40 years old and 27 years of career later. That she had for the album and the tour Renaissance a clear ambition: to celebrate black culture and queer culture.

The extraordinary cultural contribution of black and queer communities occupies more and more space in our “mainstream” space. But we should not be fooled: their marginality remains and their existence is still often rejected. Not everyone agrees with the fact that she has integrated into her work the codes of a queer culture which is not a priori hers. This view is equally valid.

But there is no doubt that with Renaissancea glittering place at the top is reserved for these marginalized communities, where we cannot miss them, even if we wanted to.

One of the people dancing in the show Renaissance puts it well (we paraphrase here): Beyoncé is a vehicle that allows us to create a grandiose space for these voices that some would (wrongly) prefer not to hear. The concert Renaissance screams this African-American identity, he screams this queer identity, and he screams them in a pop language intelligible to a large number of people.

You have to see the images on social networks of packed movie theaters in which admirers scream to their favorite songs, sway their hips as if they were in a theater. ballroom and are moved by the work that Beyoncé presents. The film, which will bring millions to the artist, it goes without saying, is not just a commercial object. It is also a way of expressing very strongly (and in a very beautiful way) demands which, now on the big screen, will be able to reach even more people.

Renaissance is a celebration. Through celebration, it becomes revenge. Renaissance is postage. A takeover. It is also a eulogy to the beauty of bodies, to community, to the power of fashion, to female sexuality, to hypersexuality itself, at its most uninhibited and emancipatory.

Once again, Beyoncé has created a popular object that has the power to take an unparalleled place in cultural space. The place we give to art that conveys something great and important.

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé is currently showing.