Films: The Chorus

Les Choristes/The Chorus (2004/5)
Dir. Christophe Barratier
Cast: Gérard Jugnot, Francois Berléand, Jean-Paul Bonnaire, Jean-Baptiste Maunier

French cinema possesses something which neither Hollywood nor British film has managed to recreate, with perhaps a handful of exceptions. I think it’s the way that visual, audio and narrative elements of the films seem to work together so perfectly, each enhancing the other to the extent that cinema becomes an entirely new experience.

The Chorus (Les Choristes) is a story that is very familiar to cinema. A passionate music teacher comes into a struggling school and transforms a class of kids using the power of song. However, (and speaking as someone who absolutely loves Sister Act 2 to the point of knowing the entire screenplay) The Chorus is much more than that story.

Clément Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot ) is the newest teacher to step through the intimidating iron gates of Fond de l’Etang (Bottom of the Well) school for “difficult” children. The school policy is simple and ruthless, “Action – Reaction.” The boys are locked in the affectionately named “Dungeon” (reminiscent of Trunchball’s terrifying “Chokey” in Matilda) for their bad behaviour. Parents visit under strict, prison-like conditions. It’s more than a little darker than a rough-around-the-edges American high school. And the boys range from the virtually pocket sized orphan, Pépinot (Maxence Perrin), to angel-faced Morhange (Jean-Baptiste Maunier) and the horrifying school bully Mondain. It’s a real mixed bag, and it seems like a little choral music would move them about as much as a month’s detentions; they have just lost the ability to care. The journey from rabble to choir and community isn’t without its setbacks, usually at the hands of the tyrannical ‘directeur,’ Rachin (Francois Berléand). However, it is Clément Mathieu’s energy and persistence and understanding of the boys as individuals rather than miscreants which eventually unites them and changes the atmosphere of the whole school.

The film is beautifully shot, given the wrought iron and cold stone location. There is some absolutely beautiful music in the film, and the real talent to look out for is little Morhange (Maunier) whose voice is breathtaking. It has a heart-warming sentiment, without sentimentality, and takes a fairly well-used plot and breathes a charm and sincerity back into it. The Chorus does not disappoint.

My rating: *** 3/5 stars
Recommendation: Deal with the subtitles and enjoy being uplifted and inspired.