Having only recently seen the legendary Andrea Bocelli live for the first time myself, I enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to experience The Journey: A Music Special From Andrea Bocelli, a Fathom Event that opens in theatres on Palm Sunday, April 2nd, and has already been extended through Easter Sunday.
What can I say? The Journey is sublime.
To fully realize Bocelli's own journey is to inevitably acknowledge his wonder. Born visually impaired with congenital glaucoma, at the age of 12 he became fully blind following a brain hemorrhage resulting from a football accident. While recognized as musically gifted as a child, Bocelli studied law at the University of Pisa and even spent time as a court-appointed lawyer. It was in the 1990s that his musical career began to blossom and since 1994 the Italian tenor of worldwide acclaim has recorded 15 solo studio albums of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums, and nine complete operas, selling over 75 million records worldwide. For many of the world's best singers, Bocelli is, quite simply, the world's best singer.
Combining world-class musical performances with intimate conversations across the awe-inspiring Italian countryside, The Journey: A Music Special From Andrea Bocelli is an exploration of the moments that define us, the songs that inspire us, and the relationships that connect us to what matters most.
Throughout The Journey, Bocelli and his wife Veronica travel on horseback along Italy’s Via Francigena, an ancient road traveled by pilgrims for centuries in the footsteps of the apostles and saints. Along the way, they are joined by friends Michael W. Smith, Tori Kelly, Tauren Wells, and TAYA for world-class musical performances in some of Italy’s most magnificent venues and majestic locations. I seldom use a word like fairytale in a review, but The Journey is very much like a fairytale that should most certainly be seen on the biggest screen possible with a sound system to match.
Starting with a blessing from Pope Francis, Bocelli’s children Matteo and Virginia make appearances in this amazing adventure, as well as musicians and singers Katherine Jenkins, Clara Barbier Serrano, 2Cellos, 40 Fingers, and many others. Some you will easily recognize. Others, you will want to get to know better.
The Journey weaves a tapestry of beautiful music, creation, faith, and love. There's an adoration for life and God and for one another that flows throughout The Journey, a divine thread connecting everyone and everything in the film. The Journey is gently paced, there's not a moment of anxiety to be found or an ounce of drama portrayed. Instead, there is wonder throughout intimate conversations and awe-inspiring music. We are both immersed within and transported by the experience of The Journey and its magnificent weaving together of music and imagery.
According to Bocelli, "“My wish is that the movie can offer an invitation to fully live and recognize our daily miracles.” Indeed, there's a sense of the miraculous and I'd dare not favor a single musical performance here as it's hard to imagine this special without every single voice represented.
You can check out The Journey for yourself in an extraordinary Fathom Event beginning this Sunday, April 2nd, and continuing through Easter Sunday. Buy tickets here!
Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic
