The concert film genre is at its essence a music documentary. Behind the scenes footage, interviews with the artist, and pre-concert preparations and set-ups add to the atmosphere of the film experience. And when you come down to it, it’s the footage of the concert itself, how close we get to the artist, how much of the audience reaction it captures, that help create the illusion that the film is the next best thing to having been at the concert itself.

"Stop Making Sense" of the Talking Heads directed by Jonathan Demme, "The Last Waltz" of The Band directed by Martin Scorsese, are cited as critically acclaimed concert film classics; and more recently, we have "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," as the highest grossing concert film of all time, having earned $267 million worldwide. This is a record previously held by Justin Bieber’s "Never Say Never." So, if you have to ask why concert films; the answer is that done right, and with the artist ‘du jour’, it can make a lot of money for the studio.

The new concert film that just opened exclusively in SM Cinemas here in the Philippines is the 3D concert film of Billie Eilish, "Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)." It is directed by no other than James Cameron - yes, dears, the same James Cameron who directed "Titanic," "Avatar," and "The Terminator." Apparently, Cameron’s wife is a good friend of Maggie Baird, mother of Finneas B. O’Connell and his sister, Billie Eilish B. O’Connell.

Got to attend an advanced screening and filled with fans of Billie’s music and persona, the area between the screen and the first row of seats became a virtual mosh pit, and that was fun to watch. When the audience in the film would turn on the lights of their mobile devices, the ones in the cinema would do the same. It all added to the charged atmosphere of just how passionate her fans are, how watching this concert was like a near-religious experience as far as they were concerned.

And it is fascinating to watch how she truly has the audience in any concert in the palm of her hand. When she asks for a full minute of silence, they readily comply. When she breaks into any song number, thousands are mouthing the lyrics along with her. They truly live her, and the message she brings. And she demonstrates how much in control she is of the process, even going over the lighting of each song on the playlist.

Songs like "Wildflower," "Birds of a Feather," "Bad Guy," "Bury A Friend," and "Ocean Eyes" come to vivid life on the screen. There are numbers where Billie is holding the camera herself, training it on the audience, then herself - so you can’t get any closer or intimate than that. The credits say directed by Billie and James, and it’s really a collaborative effort. Footage of the two in discussion showcase just how real the collab was.

Does this really reinvent the concert film? The depth of the 3D aspect certainly helps make this a unique concert film proposition; but the most important takeaway would be just how connected Billie is to her fans and concert audiences. That’s more what was so appealing about this concert recording.