Melania Trump Documentary Gets Hate From Critics, Praise From Audiences

The new documentary about First Lady Melania Trump might not win an Oscar at next year's Academy Awards ... but it seems her fans will loyally defend it -- because the Rotten Tomatoes audience score is through the roof.

"Melania" came out in theaters Friday ... and early reviews show as sharp a split as any between the Democrat and Republican parties.

At the time of publishing, critics gave the doc just a 12% on Rotten Tomatoes -- put into context, just 2 of the 17 uploaded critic reviews are positive.

Two critics -- one from the Irish Times and the other a writer for entertainment outlet Consequence -- have already likened Brett Ratner's work to that of Leni Riefenstahl ... a German filmmaker who made propaganda for the Nazis.

On the flip side, the Rotten Tomatoes audience score sits at 99% ... with many reviewers lauding Melania for her patriotism and some even claiming their theaters erupted in cheers when the flick ended. Of course, Trump supporters likely make up a majority of the opening weekend audience -- but still, the percentage is huge.

"Melania" has already generated a ton of controversy ... with Rolling Stone reporting earlier this week that production of the film was a nightmare -- with their sources alleging the production was chaotic and disorderly.

Crew members made it clear Melania herself was kind to them ... but alleged director Ratner -- who has previously been accused of sexual misconduct -- was a total tyrant on set.

Anyhoo ... with such a big divide between critics and audiences, we gotta ask -- who do you believe???