Stardom and sorrow: Whitney Houston

A new documentary about the legendary diva will be released next Friday. It is the second about her life, coming only a year after the first. But this one is particularly compelling: replete with previously unseen footage and interviews with Houston’s closest confidants, it received a roaring reception at the Cannes Film Festival last month for its poignant portrayal of her tragic trajectory. The skilful touch of Kevin Macdonald, the Oscar-winning director at the helm, no doubt helped. Mr Macdonald embarked on the film eager to challenge cliches about Houston’s drug-fuelled legacy, a dependency that led her to an early death in 2012. As he noted in Vanity Fair , however, that was a difficult feat: “There was something very disturbed about her, because she was never comfortable in her own skin.” Shocking family secrets are revealed, and the devastating toll of a punishing tour schedule is undeniable. Behind the dance-floor classics, there was terrible sadness.

耀眼与悲伤：惠特尼·休斯顿

一部关于传奇女歌手的新纪录片将于下周五上映。这是关于她一生的第二部纪录片，仅在第一部上映一年后。但这部影片尤其引人注目:它充满了此前从未公开过的镜头和对休斯顿密友的采访，在上月戛纳电影节上，这部电影因其对她悲惨经历的深刻描绘收到很高呼声。曾获奥斯卡奖的导演凯文•麦克唐纳的娴熟技巧无疑起到了推动作用。麦克唐纳先生拍摄这部电影，着手于渴望挑战休斯敦死后，关于她吸毒的陈词滥调，正是对毒品的依赖导致她在2012年早逝。然而，正如他在《名利场》上所指出的那样，这是一项艰巨的任务:“有些事情极大的困扰着她，她对自己的肤色一直都感到不舒服。”令人震惊的家庭秘密被揭露出来，让人精疲力尽的巡回演出日程的毁灭性代价是不可否认的。在舞池的古典音乐背后，有一种可怕的悲伤。

Note:

1. diva：著名女歌唱家

2. replete with：充满

3. confidants：n. 知己；密友

4. poignant：adj. 尖锐的；辛酸的；深刻的；切中要害的

5. trajectory：轨道，轨线

6. received a roaring reception：接受着观众的欢呼

7. embarked on ：从事，着手；登上船

8. cliches：n. 陈腔滥调

9. feat：n. 功绩，壮举；技艺表演

10. dance-floor：舞池