Beyoncé sides with the definition of time as “just something we invented to make motion seem simple.” She uses the word “time” repeatedly throughout RENAISSANCE: A FILM BY BEYONCÉ, pondering how time shapes our unconsciousness, and saying that “time makes us all a prisoner of the present,” and that it is, in some ways, like a battery that eventually runs dry—focusing on the relationship between time and the self.

RENAISSANCE is a documentary that follows the work that went into preparing for her RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR and then the performances themselves. It’s similar to her earlier HOMECOMING, released through Netflix in 2019, in that it documents both the final performance and everything it took to make it happen. RENAISSANCE opens with concert footage showing the fantastic, colorful stage as Beyoncé entertains and wows her audience, then follows the singer as she directs the show from A to Z, while also showing her dedicated crew playing every one of their roles with expertise. Snippets from interviews provide insight into Beyoncé’s life and what she values, showing how she brings total authenticity not only to her performances but to the lives around her that she touches.

The biggest difference from 2019’s HOMECOMING is Beyoncé’s outlook towards life, which comes across in the stage directions she chooses. For one, the very first scene to greet viewers in HOMECOMING is an impressive performance from the dancers. In RENAISSANCE, meanwhile, Beyoncé enters the stage alone with her opening number, “Dangerously In Love”—no dancing, just a microphone and her voice. And yet she keeps her audience completely captivated. While the toned-down dancing could be partially due to a foot injury she suffered before the tour, what we hear from what she says throughout the film tells another story. In fact, she’s quite open about the fact that she feels different about the concept of time at this point in her career, confessing that she had previously been pushing herself to achieve greatness.

In that case, maybe what Beyoncé sought to accomplish through her RENAISSANCE tour was to create a safe space that exists outside of the influence of time completely—one where there’s no judgment, everyone’s free, you don’t have to apologize for who you are, and you can just be yourself. “Creating this album allowed me a place to dream and find escape during a scary time for the world,” Beyoncé wrote about RENAISSANCE just before the album released. “My intention was to create a safe place, a place without judgment. A place to be free of perfectionism and overthinking. A place to scream, release, feel freedom.” Beyoncé wanted to create the space for a renaissance—one where we can break free from the shackles of time that keep us constantly on edge, and where we can be reborn as a freer version of ourselves.

That was the idea right from the planning stage of her concert. The RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR has women on staff doing just about everything, and societal expectations don’t hold them back from lugging around heavy equipment. The video that plays on the screen behind the stage symbolizes conception, birth, and the cycle of life. The Sun rises, the Sun sets, and the light orbits all around. Beyoncé wriggles underwater like a baby in the womb, only to be reborn as a cyborg human—an entirely new being.

Beyoncé’s costume choices add to the image of rebirth as well, breaking up the performance and helping viewers immerse themselves in the message of each song and of the concert overall. The same goes for the dancers, wearing uniquely colorful outfits to match each number. Their fashion is based on ball culture, also known as ballroom, an underground LGBTQ+ subculture of African American and Latin American youth centered in New York City. In behind-the-scenes footage, the dancers talk about Black ball culture and openly identify as queer. There’s also indelible marks of Uncle Johnny’s influence. Beyoncé’s Uncle Johnny, himself queer, was a major source of inspiration for the singer and made some of her outfits. Beyoncé dedicated her RENAISSANCE album to him after he died of AIDS in 2022.

There are many things that make the RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR so engaging—the opulent staging, the heavily symbolic videos, the colorful costumes—but it’s Beyoncé who brings it all together into one cohesive whole. The singer not only dominates the stage with her vocals in songs like “Dangerously In Love” and “Flaws and All,” but also gives next-level, high-concept performances of songs off her new album like “CUFF IT,” “ENERGY,” and “BREAK MY SOUL.” From hits like “Run the World (Girls)” and “Love On Top” to “Crazy In Love” (a collaboration with her husband, Jay-Z), Beyoncé draws from 27 years of creativity to build her renaissance.

But there’s even more on display than just her 27-year career. Diana Ross, who famously paved the way for Black female artists, wishes Beyoncé a happy birthday by singing her own 1976 hit “Love Hangover,” while Beyoncé’s first daughter, Blue Ivy, joins her mother on stage to sing “MY POWER” off The Lion King: The Gift. In this way, the past—full of its many inspirations for then-aspiring artist Beyoncé—and the unpredictable, developing world of tomorrow coexist on this stage.

Beyoncé looks relaxed as she smiles on camera at the end of her performance. “I feel liberated,” she says. “I have transitioned into a new animal.” As she moves beyond her 30s and into her 40s, Beyoncé seems to have found both stability and happiness. It’s “the best time of my life,” she reveals, and “it’s getting better” all the time.

In the end, the space Beyoncé sought to create wasn’t just a concert for her audiences to enjoy themselves, but a place where they can embrace themselves fully, express themselves freely, and find comfort in knowing that there’s no right or wrong way to do it. To be free from social oppression, and to live, breathe, and resonate with those around you: That’s the new beginning—the rebirth, the renaissance—she looked to forge.