Unauthorized Celine Dion Biopic Changes Singer’s Name But Uses Her Songs
This year, the Cannes Film Festival's lineup includes an unofficial biopic inspired by the life of French-Canadian singer Celine Dion. The film, which stars Valérie Lemercier, uses the singer's iconic music —but curiously changes her name to “Aline Dieu.” In French, this translates to “Aline God.” Lemercier also directs the picture.
Watch the full preview for Aline below:
Aline chronicles “Dieu”’s early career, from her humble Quebec beginnings to her big win at the Eurovision Song Contest. In her pursuit of stardom, Dieu is seen getting a full makeover — including dental surgery — to fit the conventional beauty standards of the 1980s.
One of the main components of the film is Dion’s relationship with manager-husband René Angélil, who was 26 years her senior. “We made fun of the Celine Dion-René Angélil couple a lot, especially on their age difference, some saying Celine was just an object for him, Lemercier told Le Figaro. “But of course, it was much more complicated than that. When I wrote the film, I too fell in love with René.”
It’s a bit unconventional for a biopic to use both a singer’s official discography and a pseudonym. It’s pretty much the opposite of what happened with the recent David Bowie film Stardust, which portrayed the rock n' roll icon without any of his famous hits. Because Bowie’s estate did not grant permission to use his songs, the film made do with covers that Bowie performed during his Ziggy Stardust period. The results were extremely lackluster. Aline might be able to spare itself from this fate with the sheer power of Dion’s melodies. After all, what's in a name, really?
Following its festival premiere, Aline debuts in France on November 10, 2021.
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