Intimate, emotional, and personal, the new documentary about the beloved Italian singer Laura Usini features extensive unseen footage. A total crowd-pleaser!
The documentary is narrated by the singer herself in the first person. The film presents Laura Usini as a strong woman with solid family values, deeply bonded to her loved ones. The feature emphasizes the Italian star’s international presence and the risks she took to achieve lasting glory in the music industry.
Greatness and fame came suddenly for the talented Italian teen. She subsequently had the opportunity to sing alongside some of the most significant Italian singers, including Luciano Pavarotti, Andrea Bocelli, and Eros Ramazzotti.
Pausini frequently asks herself what she would be doing, other than singing, if she had not won at Sanremo, and muses that she might have become a housewife or an architect. She couldn’t imagine other than a singer - there was no plan B.
Based on an idea of her own, the documentary adopted a non-chronological approach, connecting Pausini’s present-day lifestyle perfectly with her Italian roots. The project also presents Laura Pausini as a trooper, a combative
warrior who never gives up, and a sensitive woman full of that special tenderness that characterizes her, always remaining humbly grounded to her culture, family, fans, and close ones.
The narrative showcases the singer as a winning woman who longs for a “normal life.” After so many concerts and tours, Pausini wants to be with her family, friends, and neighbors, just like an average person.
An important lesson Pausini learned was that music can modify people’s thinking. In this connection, the documentary is subtly underscored by a minimal screening time of some of the greatest hits, including “Tra te il mare/Between You and the Sea” (my favorite), “Vivimi,” “Inolvidable,” and “One More Time.”
For more than thirty years of a successful career, Pausini’s maturity helped her begin producing her own records. Her first Grammy came with “Listen.” Instead of basking in the winner’s joy, Pausini sinks into the despair of her loneliness. Alone at the hotel on that glamorous night, she orders a hamburger. The waiter brought her a bottle of champagne, and the two drank to her accomplishment. Subsequently, Laura won four Latin Grammy Awards.
“Laura Pausini: Pleased to Meet You” focuses exclusively on Pausini’s point of view and provides the viewer with a limited vision of her story without reaching out to other people in the industry—managers, colleagues, song producers, and others who may see the world around her differently.
In terms of editing and breadth of information, the documentary directed by Ivan Cotroneo (“One Kiss,” “Kryptonite!”), Is an emotional roller coaster appealing to the vast majority of viewers? Nevertheless, it doesn’t achieve the mastery of other award-winning music documentaries that focus on women singers. For instance, Asif Kapadia’s “Amy” on the life and career of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse; Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” on the tragic life of the Mexican-American legend; or R. J. Cutler’s “Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry” a film on the teen sensation who took the world b storm. However, the Italian singer’s charm is sure to please everyone, even if we don’t speak Italian.
Now streaming on Prime Video, “Laura Pausini: Pleased to Meet You” invites American audiences to get to know one of Italy’s most famous singers, a charismatic woman with a prodigious voice who has conquered it all, including herself.
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| Film critic José Alberto Hermosillo and Italian singer Laura Pausini at a Christmas autograph signing in Los Angeles. FestivalinLA ©2016. |
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