Celine: Through The Eyes of the World

(I know it's not a book, but you're going to have to deal with my gushing.)

I could start this review by telling you the wheres and whys of my Celine love, but I'm not sure you're ready for that much flailing in one blog. Let's just say that Celine has been my diva since I was 13 or 14 years old. Other people are obsessed with Cher or Madonna, and for me it's Celine. In the ranks of my favorite artists, Celine and Tori Amos make up the upper echelon.

Needless to say, I was thrilled to get an advanced screener for Celine: Through the Eyes of the World. I already bought my tickets over a week ago, but couldn't wait to see it. Celine's Taking Chances World Tour was being filmed for a DVD, and when they started looking at the footage, they realized it was perfect for a documentary about her first world tour in almost ten years. For the first time, she was taking her mother and her soon on the road with her.

When Celine was interviewed on Oprah, she mentioned that she wanted to make sure that they took their time on this tour, and were able to explore things as a family. That family adventure is the heart of the movie. I always get a kick out of the friendship between Oprah and Celine. There's a moment in the movie where Oprah and Gail come and see Celine backstage after one of the shows. While they're posing for pictures, Oprah has the biggest smile on her face. She's genuinely thrilled to be there with her friend Celine. I can't imagine it's easy to thrill Oprah like that!

One thing that always amazes me about Celine is the sense of awe and wonder she seems to view the world with. This is a woman that has been around the world numerous times on world tours, and she’s still able to find wonder in it all. You can see this sense of wonder and joy while the family is on safari in South Africa. Watching her lean forward to gently kiss the nose of a giraffe brought a big smile to my face.

It’s always a pleasure to see her interact with her fans, and Through the Eyes of the World shows you how generous she is. Whether it’s doing a meet and greet with a family before a show, or signing autographs for mobs of fans outside her hotel after a show, she does her best to try to give back to her fans.

All of this is cut with footage from the shows. Sometimes it’s full songs with footage from different shows, and other times it’s just a little snippet of the number. I really hope that Sony hasn’t scrapped plans to release an actual Taking Chances World Tour DVD, because the footage from the shows is awesome. It’s definitely on par with the quality of A New Day: Live in Las Vegas. Thankfully, at least 3 French songs are included in the movie, and you get to see many of the costumes that she wore throughout the course of the yearlong tour. I also really enjoyed the arrangements of the Celine songs that were used as the score to the movie. Sadly, I can’t remember what any of them are at the moment, but they used some gorgeous instrumental versions of her songs to score the documentary.

Through the Eyes of the World really gives you an intimate look at Celine Dion. You get to see that she really is just a big dork. She’s not afraid to make a complete fool out of herself to make the people around her laugh. You also see how loving her family is. I still think Rene Charles is a bizarre child, but it’s sweet to see him playing golf with his father.

It’s not all happy though. During a trip to a concentration camp Celine breaks down. The movie also addresses some of the health issues that plagued her during the tour. At one point, she pushes herself through a show that she probably should have cancelled. When it’s over one of her staff members says, “At least it’s over,” and a very exhausted and upset Celine replies, “but at what cost?” It definitely shows you how hard she pushes herself.

I could keep going, but I don’t want to give away everything that happens. As a fan, I was really impressed with just how much Celine let the cameras into her life. Hell, at one point you see her at the doctor with a scope shoved up her nose to see her vocal chords.

I dare you to see Celine: Through the Eyes of the World, and not come away loving Celine. Even if you don’t care for her music, you’ll love her as a person. I didn’t think it was possible for me to be a bigger fan, but this made me one. I can't wait to see it again opening night (I still have tickets, after all)

If Sony is smart, they’ll release this on DVD alongside the originally planned 2 DVD World Tour Set (1 English, and 1 French Concert) and put out a live album from the tour. The potential for all together in one big deluxe collector’s box set makes me moist just thinking about it.

You can see the trailer for the movie here. You can also see the performance of All By Myself with movie footage. Celine: Through the Eyes of the World opens in theatres Feb. 17th for 2 weeks. Also check out the official site for more videos, show times, and photo galleries.