Céline (2008)

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The life story of French-Canadian pop diva Céline Dion is familiar enough to render itself almost iconic. The child of an economically strained family in Québec (with 13 brothers and sisters), Dion began to evince vocal artistry at age five, singing in the piano bar owned by her parents. At the age of 12, Dion both authored and sang her own original tune, "Ce N'était qu'un Rêve", which she recorded in a studio with assist from her parents; they promptly shipped the demo tape off to Euro music producer René Angelil, who - as soon as he heard it - reportedly mortgaged his house to finance Dion's first two albums, then aggressively helped Dion remake her physical image to turn her into an international pop star á la Michael Jackson. When followed by a win in the 1988 Eurovision song contest and a series of blockbuster recordings (including the title track to Disney's Beauty and the Beast), the efforts indeed paid off by rocketing her to the status of one of the most popular - and obscenely lucrative - music acts in the history of the recording industry. In the mean time, she also fell in love with, then married, Angelil. As directed by Jeff Woolnough, the Canadian telemovie Céline presents a dramatization of the chanteuse's rise to glory; it was created without the participation, authorization or endorsement of Dion. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi