Bradley Cooper's 'Maestro' Gets Standing Ovation at Venice Film Festival

Bradley Cooper's portrayal of Leonard Bernstein has drawn a lot of criticism -- but in Italy this weekend ... it drew more applause than outrage, especially from the latter's children.

Netflix's new film, "Maestro," received a standing ovation Saturday at the Venice Film Festival ... where it was screened in front of a select audience, without any of its cast members around to enjoy it. Obviously, that's because of the actors' strike going on right now.

Still, the rest of the crew was on hand to hear all the cheers ... and based on reports, this applause lasted for quite a while -- around 7 minutes or so of people on their feet.

By most accounts ... Bradley's a front-runner for Best Actor after his performance in this.

The other notable part about this reaction here is the fact that the late conductor's adult kids were in the crowd as well -- and they seemed thrilled by what they saw on the screen. Check out what they did ... on top of just clapping for BC, they seemed to cry too.

Jamie, Alexander and Nina were even seen enthusiastically fake-conducting along to Bernstein's music when the credits rolled ... so yeah, they appear to have loved it.

Of course, the backdrop of all this is the controversy this film landed in -- namely, some accusing Brad of "Jewface" ... on account of his extended nose prosthetic in the movie.

LB's children publicly spoke out in support of Brad ... saying they're fine with how he looks on camera, noting their father did indeed have a large nose. Sounds like they might be even more on board after having seen 'Maestro' for themselves.