Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe Review – Magnificent, Superb, A Masterpiece
- Details
- Category: Indies, Docs, Foreign Film
- Published on Tuesday, 09 September 2025 12:58
- Written by Janet Walker
Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe, from Lionsgate and Trafalgar Releasing, presents an intimate look into the life of one of the world’s greatest Italian tenors, and invites the audience into his world as he presents himself, unadulterated.
For many the tenor voice is recognizable, but the man may not be. When the documentary opens we are traveling to a concert. And when we arrive at the concert, the camera shows him using his wife’s arm to guide him to the backstage and we realize he is blind.
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He also explains this is the same stage where the world’s greatest tenors, Italian Luciano Pavarotti and Spaniards Plácido Domingo and José Carreras, were performing, and tonight, Bocelli will perform. Of course, the concert is magnificent.
Once the night is finished he is back at his family’s estate. He explains as we walk through this piece of property was the first property bought by his family in the late 1800s, and Tuscany is his home, and where he feels most at peace. The small plot of land bought then has become an estate now. Bocelli isn’t someone who depends on the world around him to navigate his challenges. As he decides he wants to ride, he is able to saddle his horse and with a single check from the groundman, the saddle is perfect and off he goes, riding a stately animal with an elegant gait.
As he walks through his home, the walls are lined with pictures of himself with celebrities, and awards, honors, and distinctions. And we begin to hear the story of his youth, a boy born with severe cataracts and glaucoma. He was sent to a boarding school for the visually impaired at seven, and one day he was the goalie at a visually impaired soccer match. This day as a ball was kicked toward the goal net, it hit him directly in the face, and as he and his brother explain, the force of the ball created a brain hemorrhage, and that was the last day he had sight.
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He doesn’t describe his transition to singing as “so I couldn’t see so I began singing.” It was more that his voice became noticed more, and everyone wanted him to sing at parties, for contests, for family gatherings.
Bocelli also explains his high school and college friends are still his friends today, and the documentary includes them as we are given a fuller picture of Bocelli during his early days. He explains later in the film that those who are given gifts of talent don’t “deserve” them, they are just gifted, and it becomes the responsibility of the individual to nurture the gift.
This moves the doc into the second half when Bocelli begins playing music at a piano bar, singing the top 40 hits, and finally earning money, which became the turning point for him. In 1992, Italian rock star Zucchero, which is also interviewed for the documentary, held audition for tenors, to make a demo tape to send to Pavarotti, to try and persuade him to sing the duet with him. Pavarotti, who is also featured in the documentary, suggested using Bocelli instead, Zucchero did, and the song became a huge hit in Europe. This lead to Bocelli entering the Sanremo Music Festival, in the newcomers section, and won. Which lead to a recording contract, and album ten weeks later, that exploded, and within weeks was certified platinum.
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Throughout the documentary, when his brother and their friends reflect on his achievements, with awe, they return to this moment at the Sanremo Music competition, and explain, we knew he could win it. We just didn’t know where it would take him.
The last third of the film, we are treated to a collage of Bocelli’s greatest moments, concerts around the world, duets with the most successful singers, and partnerships with the industry’s top producers, as well as his own introspective moments.
His wife, Veronica, does explain his moments of depression, and when they met in 2009, she soon became part of his team, until they decided he needed a clean break. We are also treated to the debut of his daughter, Virginia, singing “Hallelujah.”
Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe delivers a magnificent presentation of artistry, and a story that is captivating, and fascinating. The determination to triumph over circumstance, which seemed natural as if there were no other option and only mentions a few moments of depression, is admirable.
The musical clips are poignant and affecting, and shows audiences worldwide reacting in tears, standing ovations, all overwhelmed by the majesty and beauty of the sound which touches the soul. Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe is an inspiration and a celebration of life.
Inspiring, stirring, emotional, Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe, opens exclusively in theaters September 21, 2025. See it.
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Country: U.S.
Language: Italian, English with English subtitles.
Runtime: 107 minutes.
Director: Cosima Spender.
Producer: Jan Younghusband, Malcolm Gerrie, Matt Pritchard.
Executive Producer: Geno McDermott, Tara Long, Andrea Bocelli, Veronica Bocelli, Malcolm Gerrie, Francesco Pasquero, Scott Rodger.
Featuring: Andrea Bocelli, Veronica Berti, Zucchero, Virginia Berti-Bocelli, Caterina Caselli, Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, David Foster, Celine Dion, Ed Sheeran, Dua Lupia.
Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade. A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has completed the non-fiction narrative, "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," and “Days, Times, Seasons, Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose,” are available on Amazon. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.
