‘I Am: Celine Dion’ is a 1-hour, 42-minute documentary highlighting the Canadian singer’s love for music, and it gives viewers a peek into her life as she opens up about her fight with a rare autoimmune neurological disorder that affected her ability to sing, mobility and control.
Directed by Emmy and Peabody-winning director Irene Taylor Brodsky, ‘I Am: Celine Dion’ gives fans a look into Celine’s personal life as she battles Stiff Person Syndrome – a condition due to which she wasn’t able to perform to the best of her abilities and had to stop and cancel shows. In December 2022, the ‘My Heart Will Go On’ singer took to social media channels to open up about her diagnosis of a rare neurological disorder one in a million people called “Stiff Person Syndrome” or “SPS.”
“I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges, to talk about everything that I’ve been going through. Recently, I’ve been diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called the “Stiff Person Syndrome” which affects something like one in a million people. While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what’s been causing all the spasms that I’m having,” Celine revealed in a video shared on Instagram.
“Unfortunately, these spasms affect every aspect of my daily life. Sometimes causing difficulties when I walk, and not allowing me to use my vocal chords to sing the way I used to. It hurts me to tell you today that this means I won’t be ready to start my tour in Europe in February. I have a great team of doctors working alongside me to get better and my precious children who are supporting me, giving me hope. I’m working hard with my sports medicine therapist everyday to build back my strength and my ability to perform again but I have to admit, it’s been a struggle.”
“All I know is singing; it’s what I’ve done all my life and it’s what I love to do the most. I miss you so much, I miss seeing all of you, being on the stage, performing for you. I always give a hundred percent when I do my shows but my condition is not allowing me to give you that right now. For me to reach you again I have no choice but to concentrate on my health at this point and I have hope that I’m on the road to recovery. This is my focus, and I’m doing everything I can to recuperate. I want to thank you so much for your encouraging wishes of love and support on my social media, this means a lot to me,” she states. “I really hope I can see you again.”
The documentary mainly features interviews with Celine Dion. The film opens with a string of clips of her performances on tour and interviews led by her twin sons. She spends time with her kids and pets while undergoing treatment. Through archival footage and interviews, she explains what it means to be an artist and in show business. With her parents being musicians as well, she was always into music. She talks about her upbringing, financial struggles growing up, and her love for her mom.
‘I Am: Celine Dion’ highlights some of Dion’s most amazing performances, as well as her appearance on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ playing the Wheel of Musical Impressions and joining James Corden for a special edition of the ‘Carpool Karaoke.’ It shows us once again what a brilliant performer and vocalist Celine Dion is. The five-time Grammy-award-winning singer also takes fans to her warehouse with costumes, memorabilia and other treasured items.
Celine Dion is a prolific artist, having rolled out 27 albums and sold over 250 million records. She boasts multiple Grammy nominations and Academy Award and Emmy wins. Among these beautiful moments in her life are some lows that we see in ‘I Am: Celine Dion.’ As Celine’s health started deteriorating, she had to cancel her Las Vegas residency in 2021. She went into rehab and rarely left her home. Being among the greatest vocalists alive and undergoing an illness that affects your ability to use your voice the way you wish to can be agonizing and that pain is reflected in the documentary.
“If you wanna go fast, you go alone. And if you wanna go far, you go together,” she said, crediting all the people she has worked with, including the band, backup singers, and those who helped design and put together her costumes. Celine’s passion for art and music is what makes her a splendid artist but that is also the very thing that is one of the most painful experiences in her life due to her devotion to that art. And losing your voice, being unable to sing – being unable to express yourself as an artist – does a number on anyone. Her voice is her art, and she used it to guide her in life. With much difficulty, she explains how challenging it is for her to sing the way she did before. Celine takes the viewers behind the scenes to watch her record a song for the 2023 film ‘Love Again’ after two years of not singing.
In a heart-wrenching and chilling scene, the documentary captures Celine going into a seizure. With her face down, she spasms and cries but no sound leaves her mouth for a while as she loses control of her body. “If I can’t run… I’ll walk. If I can’t walk, I’ll crawl. But I won’t stop,” Celine said, tears streaming down her face.
‘I Am: Celine Dion’ is not only a testament to what a mesmerizing performer and a wonderful performer Celine Dion is but also to how tenacious and inspiring she is whilst battling a life-changing illness.
‘I Am: Celion Dion’ is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video
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