An unauthorised Celine Dion biopic received a five-minute standing ovation after a screening at the Cannes Film Festival. 

‘Aline’, starring Valerie Lemercier – who also directs the flick – is described in its trailer as “a fiction freely inspired by the life of Celine Dion”.

However, Variety‘s Ramin Satoodeh calls the movie a “paint-by-numbers biopic” that mirrors various aspects of the Think Twice star’s life, including her career and personal relationships. 

For example, Celine’s 1998 Oscars performance of My Heart Will Go On is recreated in the movie, and the lead star becomes romantically involved with an older man, mirroring the hitmaker’s marriage with late manager René Angélil, who was 26 years her senior.

As Lemercier was unable to attain the rights to Celine’s name, however, she instead goes by Aline Dieu in the feature, which according to the outlet proved a massive hit. 

Following the film’s premiere, Vulture journalist Rachel Handler labelled the project “kooky as hell… a truly weird delight,” with Variety’s Ramin Setoodeh sharing a clip of Lemercier tearfully responding to her standing ovation.

However, not all of the response was positive, with the decision to feature Lemercier, 57, as Aline at all stages in her life – including as a five-year-old child – a point of contention. 

“I’ve never seen anything quite like it,” wrote Kyle Buchanan in The New York Times. “As a cinematic presence, pre-teen Aline looks less like our main character and more like she’s ready to terrorise Vera Farmiga in the next Conjuring movie.