Although she spent the last year in seclusion, Céline Dion remained omnipresent in public space in 2023. The rumor machine kept her name in the news, as did several projects in which she did not participate, including two unauthorized biographies, a tribute show, as well as a documentary, which lands on the air this Friday.
Lasting one hour, Céline le silence arrives on Noovo exactly 12 months, to the day, after the Quebec artist revealed, through a video posted on Instagram, that she was suffering from stiff person syndrome. Directed by Dany Bouchard and Dominik Paulin, this show essentially aims to demystify this rare and debilitating neurological disease, which prevents the singer from returning to the stage.
The most enlightening – and interesting – part of the documentary is undoubtedly this meeting with Lynda Carrière, one of the rare people to suffer from the same syndrome as Celine Dion, which affects one in 1 million people. When we see this ex-athlete (she did triathlons) moving around using walking poles, we better understand the extent of the symptoms.
Her emotional reaction to Celine Dion’s 2022 video announcement, in which the singer describes her daily struggle, is also touching. “Whew… I feel like I can hear myself talking. It’s so much the same. It’s going from a hectic life to… being forced to isolate yourself. Everything she says is so right! She expresses the illness very well. »
In an interview with La Presse, the co-director of the documentary, Dany Bouchard, explains that he wanted to set the record straight at the end of a year rich in speculation of all kinds. “This is the first time in more than 40 years of career that we have had so little news from Céline,” he explains.
Today desk chief at Noovo info, Dany Bouchard knows a thing or two about Celine Dion; the former reporter at Journal de Montréal covered his career for several years. The journalist insists: this documentary was concocted with “a great deal of respect” for the Quebec artist, far from the many sensationalist headlines on gossip websites. “We didn’t try to find out the latest details or assess his state of health. If she wants to talk about it, she will,” says Dany Bouchard.
“I just wanted us to try to understand this particular disease, which causes problems with the back, the thorax, the muscles, and many things,” he continues. I wanted to understand what daily life can be like. If she can come back on stage, and even on record, so much the better. But you have to understand the limitations imposed by your illness. »
The filming of Céline le silence took place during the months of September and October. During this period, the documentary team also flew to Las Vegas, not to track down Celine Dion, but to show how her shows at Caesars Palace from 2003 to 2019 left their mark on the Strip.
“If there is a place where his silence resonates even more, it is probably in Las Vegas,” comments Dany Bouchard. There aren’t a ton of artists who are capable of holding sold-out residencies for 16 years. […] Céline, it’s so huge in the United States. Her silence is not the same silence as an artist who is seen less or who is at the end of her career. »
Remember that before disappearing, Celine Dion was to launch a new show in residence at the Resorts World hotel-casino complex.
Céline le silence lands on the airwaves at the end of an atypical year for Céline Dion. Apart from the release of the film Love Again, a sentimental comedy filmed in the middle of a pandemic which marked her cinema debut, the singer has not participated in any project concerning her, including Pour toi Céline, a tribute show organized last September in Quebec, which brought together its musicians and several artists from here and elsewhere, including Isabelle Boulay, Véronic DiCaire, Roch Voisine, Mario Pelchat and Axelle Red.
Six thousand people attended the meeting, including his brothers and sisters, who could be seen around the stage.
Céline Dion has also inspired authors, since two unofficial biographies recently landed in bookstores: Céline Dion – The Power of Love and Dis-moi Céline, which promised – initially – confidences from the artist collected on “several month” by French writer Laurence Catinot-Crost. Just before its arrival in bookstores, however, the publisher corrected the situation by revealing that the work had “not been created or written” in collaboration with the international star.