“I am: Celine Dion” is an exceptionally touching story about the phenomenal career of a singer who has had absolutely nothing to prove for years. . It is a view of life in which unlimited money makes life easier, but does not solve the problem. It is also a story about coming to terms with objective limitations and fighting for one’s self. I never thought I would be so moved by a film about a person almost completely indifferent to me. And yet, she is so authentic in the documentary that even if it is an actor’s creation, it is easy to cry with her.
Celine Dion: I can only do one thing – sing
Celine Dion was only 13 years old when her career exploded, first in her native Canada, and shortly later around the world. From that moment on, she lived on her gift from fate – a fantastic voice, covering “only” three octaves, and with a rather nasal sound, but loved and recognized in every corner of the globe. In addition to her voice, Dion also captivated with her behavior on stage. Although she started as a very young person, she did not develop an irritating superiority over others and never became a star. Crowds flocked to her concerts, and she knew how to captivate them.
. We couldn’t see it, we didn’t know it, but Celine Dion has been suffering from stiff man syndrome for years, and only recently has her condition worsened so much that regular medications stopped working. There were also situations when they did not work even earlier, in the middle of the concert. “We lied,” says Dion, resigned to her fate. “We lied, I cheated, I tapped the microphone as if it wasn’t working, I ran away from the stage, supposedly to change my costume, but I never came back.”
‘I am: Celine Dion’ Photo Amazon Prime Video / frame
. In the documentary, you will see what her reality looks like at the moment of the disease attack. Although she is surrounded by a whole team of people whose only task is to help, the spasms paralyze her body without mercy. They are only alleviated by the addictive Valium, which Dion has been taking for years in increasingly larger doses. The more concerts she gave, the stronger the drugs she had to take – her body reacts to overstimulation with an attack of painful paralysis, and performances are the quintessence of overstimulation. This condition could have ultimately led to her death, but it was not the threat to her life that made her finally decide to cancel her current and future concert tours. As she says, she could no longer provide the audience with what they paid a lot of money for, and she did not want to give them half-hearted performances. “That would be unfair,” says Dion with tears in her eyes.
Celine Dion is fighting for herself
One would like to say “it didn’t happen to the poor guy”. But on a human level, Celine Dion’s fate has something very poignant about it. The singer comes from a not particularly wealthy home, and through her own hard work, her husband’s manager and the band’s hard work, she achieved the success that anyone who wants to become an artist dreams of. Meanwhile, the disease took away her only – in her opinion – asset: her voice. Muscle spasms make Dion unable to keep sounds clear without great and painful effort. The “bottoms” don’t work, the “tops” don’t work, and the effort not only hurts, but may result in an attack of paralysis. “My voice is the only thing I have,” says the singer, deprived of her greatest asset.
I would venture to say that none of her fans would blame her if she retired if she never recorded another song. But what comes across very strongly in the documentary on the Amazon Prime Video platform is something that would mean death for Celine Dion. He lives because he performs and sings. He’s alive because he records. Her voice is her driving force when she talks about how she misses contact with the audience, the stage, the atmosphere, the music, it’s hard not to believe in her tears and it’s hard not to see them in your eyes.
I am like an apple tree – people come to me to give them the most beautiful apples. But my branches start to fall off, they get twisted, they give less and less apples. And people are still waiting for the fruit. I don’t want them to wait, since I don’t have apples for them – she says, trying to record one more, “this last” song.
Even though her team is completely satisfied with the results of the recordings, rehearsals take forever. The voice breaks on successive notes, the timbre is lost, and lisping occurs more and more often. And Celine Dion records because it’s the only way she feels alive. And then comes paralysis, a brutal price for all the previous attempts to prove to himself that he is still able to sing.
‘I am: Celine Dion’ Photo Amazon Prime Video / frame
Will we ever see Celine Dion on stage again? As she says, rehabilitation brings results. But the disease is unpredictable, and the effort and emotions associated with concerts can trigger an attack of painful paralysis in a few seconds. And she is really alone in all this. Her beloved husband died in 2016, teenage sons should not be this kind of support for their mother, the other people around her – although they are undoubtedly friends – are paid to help. After watching the documentary, I only hope that she also has adequate psychological support to help her deal with the loss and mourning of a part of herself that she is going through. “I am: Celine Dion” is probably one of the elements of this mourning, allowing not only her, but also her fans to close a beautiful chapter in their lives and start something completely new. The question remains whether she will be able to find something that will give her similar satisfaction as the music she creates. The document shows that Celine Dion is not, contrary to what she believes, only a “voice”. She is also a beautiful human being, which I was happy to discover about her.
“I am: Celine Dion”, dir. Irene Taylor, Amazon Prime Video
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
