User Reviews

Powerful and heartbreaking at times. You have to admire her for letting in the cameras behind the scenes at moments which at times were so personal. You are reminded of what a great voice she has. Even more moving her appearance at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics given what it must have taken to make that happen.

A very moving documentary that show us the most vulnerable side of the great diva.

Even though I've never been a big fan of Celine Dion, I've always appreciated her vocal skills. This doc highlights many of her performance highlights, but it isn't a biopic. She has been suffering with a rare disease called Stiff Person Syndrome, which affects the body in painful and devastating ways. Her extended interviews on coping with this dominate the narrative, while her determination to push thru it serves as the inspiration. This unflinching documentation includes some heart-breaking scenes when she suffers an attack on camera. Dion shares her fears and hopes in the closeup interviews and also interacts with her sons and physical therapists to create a moving portrait of an extremely talented, globally famous woman challenged by the shortcomings of her chronic illness.

I have SPS and I’ve been either paralyzed, trying to rest or completely weak the last couple days. The overstimulation from the noise & vibrations from the 4th of July celebrations nearly killed me, I swear!! So I’ve decided to attempt to watch, “I Am: Celine Dion,” as she is a fellow sufferer of Stiff-Persons Syndrome. I notice a few things immediately, I have to watch the show on mute with subtitles because the sounds (even her voice) in the documentary trigger my spasms and cramps immediately. I have to close or cover my eyes through some of it because of the flashing lights and quick movements. Most of us with SPS get the IVIG (plasma infusions) treatment that is shown in the beginning. We all take the different sedative & immunotherapy **** (IF we are lucky enough), tailored to our specific symptoms. These fog our brains, cause other issues, and none of us have the exact same experience with the illness or the treatments. The one thing that we do all experience is the progression of the illness and the loss of the effectiveness of the treatments. The autoimmune conditions start to add up, once you have one, you start getting more. Your body decides it’s going to kill itself. I see her dog. I bet she has someone there to feed it and let it out when she can’t move. It breaks my heart some mornings when I stare at my pup, and just have to tell her, just another half hour, girl, then I’ll hopefully be able to get you outside/feed you. I note her despair for the loss of being able to perform, to watch her dreams, passions and abilities slip away. I know this feeling well, as does everyone with SPS. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. Breathing does feel like you’re wearing a corset, except some of us have conditions where our involuntary muscles are affected as well. So our lungs don’t work as they should. Then breathing becomes terrifying, not just painful. I’m happy to see that she is able to walk to steadily; I’m constantly a ping pong ball bouncing off furniture, walls, horses and horse stalls. I’m guessing that she has days like that, too. We all suffer, I’m glad she was able to create this documentary to shine some light on the topic. I do believe though, without taking away from her pain, that there should be a documentary called, “We Are Not Celine Dion,” for the rest of us who fight with a whole other list of issues. The are thousands of us (this is a collective list of things I see in support groups) who don’t have money, a way to make money, have to fight with medical insurance companies, Medicaid, Medicare, Disability, live alone, have families that desert you, don’t have families to begin with, don’t receive adequate medical care, are ignored by doctors, don’t have the whole world rooting for them, don’t have the best doctors, specialists, physical therapists, rides to appointments, drivers to the grocery store or the pharmacy, medical professionals that come to your home, someone who cleans your house, poolside loungers to sit on, someone bringing “milkshakes” or food, “people waiting in line for your apples” that they pay a lot of money for… ?!?, sports medicine doctors to stretch your body, move you back into place, run to your side & hold your hand/rub your back/offer more meds when you have a paralytic seizure - the majority of us seize on the ground until our body lets up on its own, usually after about a half hour. She doesn’t know what it means to be, “All by Myself,” luckily, I don’t either, but some do. It’d be nice to cast a more realistic view of the struggles of SPS. Because most of us are not Celine Dion.

Céline Dion opens up completely to make visible the effects the stiff person syndrome has on the human body. The acclaimed singer, showing off her charisma, but also succumbing to the pain and attacks of her illness, lets the cameras into her house to make something akin to a sad letter asking forgiveness from her fans for no longer being able to get on to a stage and sing. "I Am Celine Dion" is not exactly a celebration of the artist's career. Still, it is impossible not to feel the nostalgia that emanates from images of Céline in all her splendor. The documentary lacks cinematic language, but it's still valuable for the way it portrays this star.

O fato de ser um documentário muito informativo sobre a Síndrome da Pessoa Rígida, que afetou a talentosíssima Celine Dion, eleva a produção, com uma riqueza de detalhes técnicos que serviu muito bem ao esclarecimento do público leigo, ou seja, didático na medida certa e traduzindo alguns jargões. A sinceridade e o carisma da cantora também ajudam, bem como a montagem muito regular, balanceando muito bem momentos de idas e voltas no tempo e o repertório da estrela. Derrapa no maniqueísmo e nas manipulações forçadas, como por exemplo da falta de maquiagem da Celine, e tem uma cena particularmente tensa, filmando um espasmo, que acredito ferir certos protocolos da OMS. Será que vale tudo mesmo?

Que buen documental para entender un poco más a una de las artistas más queridas y talentosas del planeta.

This was everything and so so so much more. So confronting, but so powerful, moving, inspiring and beautiful. A testament to celine!

Céline Dion is simply iconic. This documentary represents how majestic her career is, but also who she is as a human being. An extraordinary, humble and inspiring woman. After watching this documentary the world will never see Celine the same again. Not because of his illness but because of his impeccable life and legacy.

Speechless! This documentary showed Céline Dion's dedication to her family, her music and her fans.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

A beautiful history, i love the entire documentary, I LOVE CELINE and all the world are praying for her!

An honest and caring documentary on Celin Dion. I really enjoy it so much, a must see

This documentary is one of the best documentaries I've ever watched, it's so raw and it has emotions and it proves to all of us How Celine Dion is such a fighter and it proves again to us why she is the best singer. This documentary is a catapult for what's to come as she makes her comeback. I really enjoyed this from start to end.