Angèle
The Belgian pop princess proves to be an engaging subject for an absorbing new Netflix documentary.
Angèle
Of the recent slew of documentaries chronicling the lives of current pop superstars, Angèle has a major advantage. The daughter of famous showbiz parents, the singer has had her life captured on film from the year zero. She has also kept a rigorous, deeply candid diary of her life, annotated with probing thoughts, desires and doubts. Angèle Van Laeken was – and is – a personality begging for her own documentary.
The daughter of the Belgian singer-songwriter Serge Van Laeken (known as ‘Marka’) and the actress Laurence Bibot, she grew up in the spotlight. Even her older brother Roméo Elvis is a hugely successful rapper, so fame was a familiar dynamic for her. A preternaturally beautiful child, she played the piano, took ballet classes and acted out in front of the camera before creating her public persona: an improved version of herself. “A combination of my fantasies: The Little Mermaid. A princess. Ariana Grande.”
Yet, in spite of her extreme beauty and engaging personality, Angèle has been plagued by insecurity and online abuse, rounding her out into an honest, vulnerable and passionate subject for Sébastien Rensonnet and Brice Vdh’s film. Not only is it hard to take one’s eyes off her, but her sincerity and candour is irresistibly affecting. Yet her rise to the epicentre of the European pop scene was not all plain sailing. Her first significant appearance on stage was a catastrophe and would have crushed lesser souls – she was booed as the support act for the rapper Damso – but she got back up and the next evening took a pro-active approach with the crowd. She was then hoodwinked by Playboy magazine and a photograph that she had rejected ended up on the cover and all over the media. And when she came out on Instagram in August of 2020, she was annihilated online, and yet she kept her head up and became a role model for disenfranchised members of the LGBT community.
Hers is a story of privilege, courage and talent and is an intriguing take on fame in the current goldfish bowl of social media. She is irresistible company and Sébastien Rensonnet and Brice Vdh have done her proud.
JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
Featuring Angèle, Marka, Laurence Bibot, Roméo Elvis, Dua Lipa.
Dir Sébastien Rensonnet and Brice Vdh, Pro Saïmiri, Ex Pro Barbara Dauby, Ed Pascal Oberlin, Music Tristan Salvati, Costumes Samantha Gil.
Netflix-Netflix.
84 mins. France. 2021. UK and US Rel: 26 November 2021. Cert. 15
