Aline, the movie that’s a thinly-veiled biopic of Celine Dion, will get an American release in early 2022 after premiering earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival, Variety reports.
Aline was directed and co-written by French actor/comedian Valérie Lemercier, who also stars as the title character and plays her from youth to adulthood, though Lemercier is 57. In the film, Aline is a singer from Quebec who grew up with 13 siblings, just like Celine Dion did.
The movie follows Aline as she’s discovered by a producer, who makes her a star and then marries her — just like Celine’s late husband René Angelil did. And just like Celine, she does a Las Vegas residency and has three children after struggling with infertility problems. Celine’s songs are featured, with Aline’s singing voice provided by a Celine soundalike named Victoria Sio.
When the movie opened in Cannes, Lemercier told Variety of its inspiration, “Nothing is against [Celine], but some things are invented to be more cinematic and romantic sometimes.” She also claimed Celine’s French manager O.K.’d the project, but that Celine hadn’t read the script and, at that point, hadn’t seen it.
Aline will be distributed by Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films, who brought you the Oscar-winning movies Judy and Another Round. In a joint statement published by Variety, the two companies said, “Valérie’s tour de force performance…created an enormous splash at Cannes this year, and we think American audiences will be every bit as thrilled to discover this one-of-a-kind entertainer.”
They also called the film a “love letter” to Celine. In July, Variety described it as “kooky.”
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