X
- 2005
- PG-13
- Miramax
- 1 h 37 m
- 2005
- PG-13
- Miramax
- 1 h 37 m
Summary When a music teacher takes a position at a boy's reformatory in 1949 France, he discovers the redemptive power of music.
Directed By: Christophe Barratier
- 2005
- PG-13
- Miramax
- 1 h 37 m
- 2005
- PG-13
- Miramax
- 1 h 37 m
The Chorus
56
7.6
Summary When a music teacher takes a position at a boy's reformatory in 1949 France, he discovers the redemptive power of music.
Directed By: Christophe Barratier
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 32 Critic Reviews
56
47% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
53% Mixed
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 32 Critic Reviews
56
47% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
53% Mixed
17 Reviews
17 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 44 User Ratings
7.6
77% Positive
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
18% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
5% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 44 User Ratings
7.6
77% Positive
34 Ratings
34 Ratings
18% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
5% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
This film takes place in the mid-twentieth century, in a French reformatory for children who are orphans or who have had legal problems. The story is quite cliché, but it's extremely effective for the film, and it works wonderfully: it's a teacher's flashback passage through that reformatory. He immediately sensed the climate of repression and anger experienced in the institution, and fueled by the brutal methods of the leadership. Disagreeing with this, he began to educate the children in his own way, eventually forming a small choir that helped at least some of the young people escape delinquency.
The film is very good and one of those excellent French films that is lost due to the lack of millionaire publicity and greater interest in European cinema. It's a familiar and friendly film, with uplifting moral messages and great music. Music works not only as a language to express feelings and communicate, but also as a therapy for the accumulated anger and frustrations of that group of children.
The film's cast is headed by Gérard Jugnot, an actor I didn't know yet, even though the face is familiar to me, and I really enjoyed seeing here. François Berléand gave life to the villain, the unfriendly and rude director of the institution, but he does a very good job and steals our attention whenever he shows up. The character lived at school with his wife and kids, but I felt this was a hook for a sub-plot that never came to anything concrete. Kad Merad and Jean-Paul Bonnaire also proved to be good additions to the cast.
Technically, the film is a gem of quality at a low price. Without the spectacularity and resources of the American film industry, this film offers us exquisite cinematography, with excellent colors and good camera work, an intelligent use of light and shadow, and magnificent and well-chosen sets. But it is in the soundtrack and in the use of children's voices that the film really acquires magic, especially for classical music lovers, as is my case. A note of praise also for the use of period props and costumes, which help the film to fit in well with the period portrayed.
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There's very little in The Chorus you haven't seen before, but the movie's depth of sentiment -- especially its profound humanism -- makes it worth experiencing again.
Barratier has assembled an unforgettable gallery of faces both young and old, and prolific character actor Berleand plays the perfect villain.
Did nobody involved in this project notice that it was retreading a very deep groove?
A deeply conventional story about truculent or orphaned boys and the gentle soul who finds himself by shaping the tots into a chorus.
The cinematic equivalent of filtered water, The Chorus is all smooth, nutrient-free clichés. This shamelessly globalized French Oscar submission even opens with a shot of an American flag--perhaps an unconscious declaration of defeat for importable Gallic cinema.
Amazing movie, and one of my all time favorites. The soundtrack in the film is absolutely fantastic, the acting great and the story (although extremely cliche) heartwarming. Watching the movie in French made it even better.
10/10 would recommend.
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Id compare the feeling it evokes somewhat similar to forest gump, it has that feel-good wibe to it. Just like forest gump it has characters that are bit depressed and grumpy or sad,but instead of the gump this movie replaces him with music... sounds odd but but it makes the movie work.
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Christophe Barratier brings us a great masterpiece from French cinema. When I watched this film I was 14 years old and "Les choristes" was my first independent film. Later, I became a good cinephile. "Les choristes", like "La vita bella", is a kind movie that it give spectator a dose of joy and optimism. The score is a song to sensitive, a great score by Bruno Coulais. I don't understand why this film has such a low note by experts.
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Production Company
Vega Film,
Banque Populaire Images 4,
CP Medien AG,
Canal+,
Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée (CNC),
Dan Valley Film AG,
France 2 Cinéma,
Galatée Films,
Novo Arturo Films,
Pathé,
Renn Productions,
Société des Producteurs de Cinéma et de Télévision (Procirep)
Release Date Jan 14, 2005
Duration 1 h 37 m
Rating PG-13
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 2 Nominations
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
César Awards, France
• 2 Wins & 8 Nominations
