There was excitement in the air Monday evening at the Théâtre Maisonneuve at Place des Arts as many personalities gathered to attend a special screening of the documentary by American Irene Taylor dedicated to Céline Dion. Preceded by worldwide media coverage, all the more imposing given that the singer had not given an interview for almost four years, the film entitled I Am: Celine Dion (I am: Celine Dion) will be available to Prime Video subscribers starting June 25.
First, we were able to see and hear the 56-year-old singer live, visibly moved, speaking at the New York premiere. Then, in a brief pre-recorded message, Charlemagne’s granddaughter addressed her Quebec admirers. Then finally came the time for the main program: an unconventional documentary, which, as Céline Dion wished, contains neither narration nor talking heads, a film which does justice to the woman rather than to the star, a intimate, contemplative, sometimes even poetic portrait, which is often funny, but also, at times, heartbreaking.
Céline at home
It is not new that Céline Dion offers her faithful and numerous admirers a breathtaking view of her daily life as a star and a woman, of her family and tour life, of her experiences of love and illness. and mourning. After Céline around the worlddirected by Stéphane Laporte in 2010, a film where the singer already showed great openness, I Am: Celine Dion goes further, much further. Initiated by the artist herself, in particular because she wanted to raise awareness about stiff person syndrome (SPR), the filming of the film took place in 2021 and 2022.
There are several archive extracts, brief sequences, always essential to the dramaturgy of the film, but which are rarely what one might have expected. We see, for example, images of the first interview in English, on the CBC, in 1983, then of the first Olympia, in 1984, where the singer opened for Patrick Sébastien, or of the concert given at the Zénith in Paris in 1995 There are also several evocations of childhood, photos little or never seen, very lively family celebrations. More than the ascent, more than the residencies in Las Vegas and the world tours, it is the original dream that the film seems to want to depict.
To tell the truth, the documentary is akin to an assessment, a necessary inventory before undertaking a new stage. One scene is particularly representative of this: imagine Céline, with sparkling eyes, serving as a guide in a warehouse where the memories of a lifetime are located, the dresses and toys, the drawings and shoes, the artifacts of the career too although those of family life. What the documentary does best is providing access to the person behind the superstar. We talk about joys and sorrows, births and deaths, the roles of daughter, sister, wife and mother. As the days slowly pass in the Las Vegas villa, we see her without makeup, vulnerable but very much alive, having fun with her twins, feeding her aging dog and even… vacuuming!
From laughter to tears
We witness the intravenous plasma injection and physical rehabilitation sessions, but also the demanding recording sessions of the song Love Again and even to the creation of the video through which Céline Dion announced on December 8, 2022 that she had RPS. Towards the end, a sequence shows the singer in the grip of a terrible crisis, her body in spasms, images so unbearable that a spectator present in the room on Monday evening felt unwell which required the intervention of a first responder.
As a counterpoint to the more tragic moments, the director has included touches of humor, such as the imitation of Sia in Tonight Show by Jimmy Fallon in 2016 or even the rereading of my heart Will Go On with James Corden in the Bellagio fountains in 2019. Thus, the documentary is never dark, never pathetic, never complacent, but rather focused on the possibility of a better future. If there is much talk about the singer’s state of health, the real subject is not there. It’s an excuse to take a break, measure how far we’ve come and imagine the continuation of this love story that has united Céline with her admirers for over 40 years.