The Big Picture

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé showcases the immersive and communal experience of being at one of her concerts. The film highlights the behind-the-scenes work and the massive effort put into creating the Renaissance tour. Renaissance provides a deeper understanding of Beyoncé as an artist, a mother, and a visionary, making it a remarkable concert experience.

2023 has already been a banner year for concert films. This year has brought Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour to theaters, which broke box-office records, while A24 rereleased Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense—probably the greatest concert film of all time. What links these two experiences is an immersion, a decision to treat the person in the theater like a concertgoer who was there on the night of the performance. In both of these films, we rarely see the audience because we are the audience. But in Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, Queen Bey wants us to know that being at one of her concerts is a communal experience.

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé Beyoncé in performance at her record-breaking RENAISSANCE World Tour and the creative mastermind behind it. Release Date December 1, 2023 Cast Beyoncé, Blue Ivy Carter Runtime 150 minutes Genres Music

As she opens her film with a performance of “Dangerously in Love,” Beyoncé—who is also the film’s director—her camera pays just as much attention to the audience as she does herself. By the end of her 3-hour spectacular, she’s stating that she hopes the audience feels revitalized and reinvigorated. Beyoncé says that when she’s performing, she feels free, like she’s not in control of who she is on that stage, and she wants to give her crowds that same opportunity—to feel like they’re free, not judged and loved. After a pandemic and Beyoncé’s own tribulations, the Renaissance tour is treated almost like a cathartic group therapy, and none of that magic is lost in its transition to this film.

‘Renaissance’ Is About Those Who Made This Experience Coming Together

The Renaissance tour took four years to put together, and while Beyoncé is clearly the curator of this entire experience, which she calls like “creating our own world,” she immediately puts the attention on those who have brought this world to life behind the scenes. Beyoncé wants to show the gargantuan process of making this show, from the workers putting together the gigantic stages (the stages take so long to construct, when Beyoncé is in one city, the next two cities’ stages are being built), to her dancers that feel like a family to her, and the massive crew that makes sure everything works as it should. Beyoncé even talks about putting the crew in reflective jackets so that the audience can see all the incredible work that they do on a nightly basis.

When all put together, the Renaissance tour looks immaculate, a modern icon showing her vision at the highest level. But by breaking down the walls of the Renaissance tour, Beyoncé’s accomplishment feels even greater than had she solely shown us what the finished product looks like. Renaissance will often stop the concert in its tracks to go behind-the-scenes on Beyoncé attempting to figure out how to make the sets, and her pushing everyone to make her vision a reality. Beyoncé spotlights Kevin Jz Prodigy and the ballroom culture that inspired the “Renaissance” album. She takes the time out to discuss the influences of songs or the show in general, creating a fantastic primer on this Renaissance era in general. Beyoncé could’ve easily shown us this concert in the way the audience sees it, with every piece in perfect precision. But by showing us every decision that makes this all come together, the experience is altogether more impressive and remarkable.

‘Renaissance’ Also Gives Us a Fascinating Look at Who Beyoncé Is
Image via Parkwood Entertainment

But the best of these cuts away from the stage give us a deeper understanding of who Beyoncé is. While we can always expect a certain amount of hagiography in a director telling their own story, Beyoncé (seemingly) doesn’t shy away from being an open book. She’s playful and often goofy. At one point, she even references Austin Powers. Remember how she’s in Goldmember? Beyoncé not only wants to show us how this concert was made, but how she was made as well. Renaissance taking the time to show her hometown of Houston and home videos, discussing her Uncle Johnny, who helped design her first outfits, or her passion for getting everything right, gives us a well-rounded look at who Beyoncé truly is off-stage.

Some of the best moments in Renaissance take place offstage where we get to see her as a mother. Even though she’s performing for 70,000 people a night, her biggest excitement comes from learning her child has lost a baby tooth. When she gets off the stage, Beyoncé is still a mother, and it’s especially fun to watch her alongside Blue Ivy, whether she’s telling her to calm down over her excitement for a song, or working with her on her dance routines so she can join her mom on stage. It’s beautiful watching these two together and seeing Blue Ivy attempting to get better. At the end of the day, this doesn’t feel like one of music’s biggest stars behind the scenes, it feels like a mother doing her best to love and push her kids to be the best they possibly can be.

Image via Parkwood Entertainment

The concert itself is colossal, a stupendous presentation that shows exactly why Beyoncé is a living legend. It cuts between several different stops on the tour, showing the differences in costume and presentation seamlessly, making each show feel like a unique, one-of-a-kind experience. As we watch this nearly 3+ hour concert experience, we see why getting all of this together has been a constant source of stress for Beyoncé, as it’s a concert unlike any we’ve ever seen. From the opening moments of Beyoncé somberly singing and thanking her audience, to the final song, with her flying off a crystal horse into the sky, this is a truly unbelievable production. Every song flows together beautifully, and Beyoncé captures the spirit of each in this production. “BREAK MY SOUL” becomes a party and celebration of ballroom culture, while “Savage Remix” brings out Megan Thee Stallion, and Beyoncé rides a car onto the stage. This is the kind of concert that can bring out Kendrick Lamar for a single verse before he descends into the stage. It’s extravagant and bold in the best possible way. Like The Eras Tour and Stop Making Sense, it’s wonderful that such an unbelievable performance has been documented in this way.

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé is a tremendous look at one of the biggest concert experiences in recent memory, as well as what makes one of the most iconic singers of our time tick. In doing this, Beyoncé once again shows us her underrated skills as a director, which we’ve seen in projects like Lemonade, Black is King, and Homecoming, but on a whole other level here. Several times throughout Renaissance, Beyoncé talks about how there are so many bees in this hive, and through Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé we get to see the beauty and power that can come when they all work together to create something this stupendous.

Rating: A-

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé is now in theaters in the U.S.

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