Barnes & Noble

Drawing on sentiments previously expressed in cinematic form with such films as Goodbye Mr. Chips, Stand and Deliver, Lean on Me, and Mr. Holland's Opus (to name just a few), The Chorus (a.k.a. Les Choristes) explores the relationship between a beloved educator and his impressionable young students. In this case the mentor is Clement Mathieu (Gerard Jugnot), a middle-aged teacher’s assistant whose tenure in a French boarding school becomes infinitely more interesting when he forms a boys’ choir. It smacks too much of fun to the headmaster, an iron-fisted disciplinarian, and indeed some of the “difficult” students create problems that threaten to sink the venture. But some of the boys, like Pierre Morhange (Jean-Baptiste Maunier) show unusual promise, and Clement puts his career on the line to keep the choir going. Like most movies of this type, The Chorus hews to a formula established long, long ago. There are the predictable problems with the establishment, the difficult student whom the teacher implores to explore his own talent, the moment of crashing despair, and the moment of supreme triumph. And, of course, there’s the Big Performance. But director Christopher Barratier brings an easygoing charm to the proceedings by playing on the expectations of his viewers, giving each familiar sequence a cute little fillip. You may have seen it all before, but The Chorus is a fresh arrangement of a familiar symphony. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

French producer and musician Christophe Barratier makes his directorial debut with the drama Les Choristes, inspired by the 1947 film La Cage aux Rossignols. Wildly successful orchestra conductor Pierre Morhange (Jacques Perrin) returns home when his mother dies. He recollects his childhood inspirations through the pages of a diary kept by his old music teacher Clément Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot). Back in the late '40s, little Pierre (Jean-Baptiste Maunier) is the badly behaved son of single mother Violette (Marie Bunel). He attends a dreary boarding school presided over by strict headmaster Rachin (François Berléand). New teacher Mathieu brightens up the place and organizes a choir, leading to the discovery of Pierre's musical talents. Featuring performances by Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc Choir. Les Choristes was shown at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004. Andrea LeVasseur

Product Details

• UPC: 786936282559
• Source: MIRAMAX
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: Français
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 1:37:00
• Sales Rank: 3,310

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