‘It wasn’t a good life’, said Tina Turner in emotional film in which she said goodbye to public life

“It was not a good life.” Tina Turner’s phrase marked the documentary about her trajectory released two years before her death, this Wednesday (24), at the age of 83. The film Tina it was a kind of farewell to public life, a last act.

The film features an unprecedented interview with the singer, as well as testimonials from Oprah Winfrey, Angela Bassett It is katori hallbetween others.

The documentary recounted Tina Turner’s story from her poor and abandoned childhood – both her father and mother left. Teenager in St. Louis, the singer, still known as Anna Mae Bullock, joined Ike Turner’s band, who gave her her stage name.

Tina is available streaming in Brazil on HBO Max.

Life of abandonment and abuse

The film exploited her energy but didn’t ignore her pain. Despite suffering from the trauma of violence and lack of love, the singer was never afraid to talk about it – or let others do.

After the historic interview for the Peopleshe released two biographies, I, Tina – The Story of My Life (1986) and Tina Turner – My Love Story (2019), a biopic (Tina1993, starring Angela Bassett) and turned into a musical in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical (2018), written by Katori Hall, who most recently wrote the series P-Valleyinspired by another piece of his authorship.

It was talking to her shortly before the premiere of the musical that the directors had the impression that the singer saw the documentary as a farewell, not from the stage, from which she retired in 2009, but from public life. “It’s a farewell to her participation in her own story,” said TJ Martin. “As people kept asking about what she had suffered, for Tina it continued to be a form of work, because she cannot divorce herself from the cultural icon she helped create. So farewell is literally stepping out of the spotlight.”

Tina and Ike Turner had a successful career and a marriage marred by his violence. In 1976, after suicide attempts, she walked out of the relationship with little more than the right to use her stage name. But she struggled to pursue her artistic career, often being paired with Ike. In an attempt to get rid of it, she gave an interview to “People” magazine, speaking openly about the subject, being a precursor of the movement me too.

Show at Maracanã marked a comeback

Tina Turner made a comeback, launching private dancera successful album with hits like What’s Love Got to Do With Itover 40 years old.

There began a wave of success that had as one of its peaks the show for 180,000 people at the Maracanã Stadium, a record. “It was an important part of his career. We spoke to her about this performance, but in the end we thought it was better to show than talk,” said Daniel Lindsay. It is onstage, after all, commanding an audience of thousands of people, dancing non-stop, singing in her trademark strong voice, that we see Tina Turner’s strength.