The raw dive into the intimacy of an international singing star is emerging as a new documentary genre. Following the embarrassing Joan Baez I Am a Noise, released in cinemas on Wednesday, June 26, a therapeutic session to which the Madonna of American folk lent herself, here is I Am: Céline Dion, available on streaming on Prime Video.
After watching the video, one wonders how French Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra could have imagined that the Quebec nightingale would sing at the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, a prospect as plausible as Daft Punk's possible reunion for the event.
American director Irene Taylor's film is, in fact, set in the real world. It shows the singer's tragic battle against the rare ailment from which she suffers, Stiff Person Syndrome (SPR), which she revealed she had in December 2022 after canceling her European tour that had already been postponed. Since her Courage World Tour had been interrupted because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Céline Dion hasn't experienced the thrill of the stage since her last concert in Newark, New Jersey, on March 8, 2020.
SPR attacks her most prized possession – her voice – causing stiffness of the throat muscles. The viewer is spared nothing of the suffering of the 50-year-old, filmed with her sons at her home in Las Vegas: her spasm attacks requiring medical intervention, her medication, her despair and tears in the face of misfortune, right up to a harrowing final scene – shaking, stiffening and moaning – with the physiotherapist. This voyeurism raises questions: "I don't want anyone to hear this," says the patient, while filmed, with her consent, to do the opposite.
Those unfamiliar with her work are unlikely to learn much. Archival footage only serves to cruelly underline the contrast between then and now, ever since a Quebec teenager growing up in a family of 14 children dreamed of "becoming an international star." This dream has been largely fulfilled, with over 200 million albums sold worldwide.
Fortunately, the ordeal does contain a few light-hearted moments, such as a visit to the star's personal storage, where she offers a surprising piece of advice: "When a girl likes her shoes, she'll always make them fit," she says, whatever the size. A touching moment shows Céline Dion listening to La Callas singing the aria "Ebben? Ne andro lontana," from Alfredo Catalani's opera La Wally, then showing the necklace that once belonged to the diva, given to her by her husband and impresario René Angélil, who died in 2016. The memory of Dion's manager was evoked with less surprise when the acappella cry and key jump in All by Myself.
The most interesting scene sees her face the microphone for the rehearsal of "Love Again", one of five new songs the recluse released in 2023 for a romantic comedy in which she made her screen debut. The high notes are out of reach, the timbre is shot and the enthusiasm of those around her fails to fool her: "I don't like it," she mumbles, listening to the result, before getting back to work and saying what fans had been waiting for: "I won't stop."
"I Am: Céline Dion," documentary by Irene Taylor (US-Canada, 2024, 102 min). Available on-demand on Prime Video.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.