I Am: Celine Dion

“Who is Celine Dion?” is a question not often asked. The French-Canadian idol is one of the most acclaimed performers of all time, her songs storming the charts and her albums receiving the highest praise; she is a household name for every generation, all thanks to that flawless voice. “Who is Celine Dion?” might be a question only ever asked by the superstar herself.

In her Prime Video documentary, directed by Emmy Award-winning director Irene Taylor, Dion chronicles her early life, her home life and her life living with the rare disease Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS). It is achingly intimate, her vulnerability commendable as she wipes her tears in front of the camera and ponders who she is without her voice, and if people will still want her when she cannot sing for them. It is a film without a solution at the end, instead showing strength in the journey.

At the start of the documentary, a young, doe-eyed Dion tells an interviewer that her dream is “to sing for all [her] life”. Now 56, Dion looks back at her years onstage under bright lights and says decisively that her voice was the “conductor of [her] life”. Under the stresses of SPS, that voice has now lost its strength. Dion shows us how her voice cracks, an experience that is clearly tough for her. This honesty flows through the film and allows one to foster a real connection with her. One scene is particularly hard to watch – cameras are kept on Dion as she experiences a seizure. Her sons watch on as her doctors help her through it. The decision to keep this footage is a very brave one.

Although it outlines the story, the documentary isn’t all about the loss of her voice. We also see her with her family and within the calmness of her home, interspersed with jaw-dropping clips of her onstage. It’s excellently put together, smooth and poignant, to show that both of these women, the star in glittering suits and the bare-faced mum vacuuming her living room, are both her, simultaneously. She is Celine.

I Am: Celine Dion succeeds technically, with cinematic editing and expert pacing, but excels emotionally. It is not a documentary based on gossip or suspense, but one full of heart and bracing reality. It is a beautiful way to connect with her fans once more and to invite the public to know who she is behind that unforgettable voice.

Talitha Stowell

I Am: Celine Dion is released on Prime Video on 25^th June 2024.

Watch the trailer for I Am: Celine Dion here: