I Am: Celine Dion is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Irene Taylor. The film follows Canadian singer Celine Dion as she looks back on her life and career while addressing her diagnosis with stiff-person syndrome. It premiered in New York on 17 June 2024 and received a limited theatrical release on 21 June 2024 through Amazon MGM Studios. The documentary became available for streaming on 25 June 2024 on Amazon Prime Video. In Francophone markets, it was released as Je suis: Céline Dion.
Critics responded positively, noting the film's intimate focus on Dion's personal and professional challenges. It also drew strong viewership on streaming, becoming the number-one film on Amazon Prime Video worldwide shortly after release and ranking as the platform's most-watched documentary to date. The accompanying I Am: Celine Dion soundtrack was issued on 21 June 2024.
Contents
Production
Sony Music announced in September 2021 that a feature-length documentary about Dion was in development, with the singer granting access to her personal and professional life. In January 2024, the film's official title was revealed as I Am: Celine Dion, and Amazon MGM Studios acquired distribution rights. The first trailer was released on 23 May 2024.
Reception
Critical reception
I Am: Celine Dion received generally positive reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 46 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Cutting through cliche with an earnest and open closet of vulnerability, I Am is a moving portrait of resilience, proving that Celine Dion will go on." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
Chris Azzopardi of The New York Times wrote that "Dion's voice made her a star; this film is keen on making her a person". Peter Debruge of Variety described the documentary as "intensely personal and sincere". Suzannah Ramsdale of the Evening Standard called it "a raw, heartbreaking and deeply moving window into the reclusive life of a once-in-a-generation talent". Diego Batlle of otroscines.com described it as "a visceral, cathartic, confessional" work. Dennis Schwartz of Ozus's World Movie Reviews referred to it as an inspirational documentary.
Audience viewership
I Am: Celine Dion was reported by Amazon Prime Video to be the platform's number-one movie worldwide shortly after release. According to Luminate, the film was the most-watched movie on Prime Video from 21 to 27 June 2024, accumulating 82.8 million minutes viewed during its first three days. Viewership increased by 83% the following week, reaching 151.2 million minutes.
Luminate later reported that the film was the second most-watched music documentary of 2024 across major streaming platforms, with 507.1 million minutes viewed, behind The Greatest Night in Pop. In July 2024, Deadline Hollywood reported that the documentary had become Prime Video's most-watched documentary to date.
Music
The I Am: Celine Dion soundtrack was released on 21 June 2024. The album includes 13 songs from Dion's catalogue alongside seven original score tracks composed primarily by Redi Hasa and produced by Alberto Fabris.
Songs used in the film in chronological order
All songs performed by Celine Dion, except where noted.
"L'amour est un oiseau rebelle" – Maria Callas
"River Deep, Mountain High"
"A New Day Has Come"
"Because You Loved Me"
"Pour que tu m'aimes encore"
"The Power of Love"
"My Heart Will Go On"
"Chattanooga Choo Choo"
"Le ballet"
"Hush, Little Baby" / "Chandelier"
"Treat Her Like a Lady"
"Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi"
"Visa pour les beaux jours"
"If That's What It Takes"
"Ashes"
"That's the Way It Is"
"All by Myself"
"Ebben? Ne andrò lontana" – Maria Callas
"I've Got the Music in Me"
"Moonlight Sonata"
"Zora sourit"
"Je crois toi"
"Help!" – John Farnham
