Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour was a pop culture movement and proved she is Queen B. Her tour was perfectly translated with Oscar-worthy cinematography that captured her every move. The film, narrated by Beyonce herself, included footage of her concert, her childhood upbringing, and interviews from dancers, family, and friends. The film features her hottest pop hits in music history. The Diva is back!
Since the release date on December 1st, the movie has made over $21 million. The American documentary concert film was directed by Beyonce herself, James B. Merryman, and Mar k Ritchie. James B. Merryman is known for his directing career and his biggest projects like Shakira In Concert: El Dorado World Tour. In the Renaissance, he takes the role of director. Mark Ritchie is known for directing Beyonce and Jay Z’s entire global 2018 tour. Mark Ritchie appears as a visual artist and storyteller in the film’s credits. In this 3-hour long concert documentary, we uncover her motive for creating the Renaissance tour and are taken through her creative process.
In the first few minutes of the film, we hear her opening song “Dangerously in Love” which she dedicates to her fanbase, also known as the Beyhive. The film not only highlights moments from the tour but also exclusive interviews and bonus content. For example, she follows the first few songs with interviews of the dancers and herself. From that point on it was clear that this was going to be just as great as Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce. The astonishing camera quality adds to the perspective and to the feeling of actually being present at the concert.
During her song “ALIEN SUPERSTAR” there was a sudden glitch, and the lights went out. People were shocked and thought there was a technical problem with the theater. Then the next clip plays and there was a technical problem, but it wasn’t with the theater, it was the concert screen and music that got cut out.
We see Beyonce swiftly get off the stage and change costumes to create the illusion that it was a part of the concert. This displays her professionalism and stage presence. This part of the film sets the tone of the concert and how Beyonce is going to be completely honest about the behind-the-scenes of the concert.
In the documentary parts of the film, audiences are introduced to Blue Ivy Carter, Beyoncé’s daughter. In the tour, Blue Ivy was scheduled to make an appearance once in Paris alongside her mother, but Blue ended up performing for the rest of the tour dates. There are multiple clips of interviews with Blue where she tells her part of the story. It’s refreshing to hear from Blue herself, as she talks about her appearance and feelings throughout the whole documentary. She explains how the comments from fans helped her improve her craft and push herself harder to be the best she can be. Blue’s interview adds more perspective and leaves everyone in awe of her perseverance despite this being her first performance.
The cinematography for this film engulfs the viewer, putting them in the perspective of someone close to Beyoncé herself. There were many times in the film when I had to stop and remember that I was watching a movie and wasn’t at the concert. The surround sound this movie provides just adds much more to the experience. The sound effects of the performance and the ad-libs by Kevin JZ add more to the dancer’s performances.
Nostalgia bleeds from the concert setlist, featuring songs from all of her past albums. We get upbeat songs from the Renaissance album and love songs from the Beyoncé 4 album. It’s reviving to hear her old songs from the past 20 years of her solo career. Some notable performances are “Diva,” “Crazy in Love,” “Formation,” “Drunk in Love,” and many more all-time hits.
There have been a plethora of movie releases this year, but Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé took the cake for this year. This lyrical, powerful film did take us to The Renaissance. This movie gives the viewer an insight on the behind the scenes of her worldwide tour. She speaks on the technical problems of the show and the process of putting the performance together. We get to see Beyoncé’s artistic thinking and go through her creative process. The viewer can sympathize with Beyoncé’s childhood stories and how she continues to persevere through her trials.
