Les Choristes (France/Switzerland/Germany) (Miramax) (2004) ***1/2Year: 2004iMDB
Director: Christophe Barratier Cast: Gerard Jugnot, Francois Berleand, Jean-Baptiste Maunier
A loose remake of the 1945 La cage aux rossignoles (A Cage of Nightingales) which was even nominated then for Best Original Screenplay Oscar, The Chorus (the US title) tells the story of a modest school teacher (Jugnot) who joins a boarding school known for its strict rules and hard discipline enforcing techniques. His attitude is however different and he tries to understand the students and get them to cooperate by showing them some amount of kindness and respect. On top of that he discovers that he might have in the school enough talent to pursue his passion about music, and he forms a choir that soon becomes better and better.
The story is not particularly original (one can think of Dead poets society as well) but manages to remain rather entertaining than overbearing with its messages. However, what brings this movie to everyone's attention is its music. The children are spectacular in performing the few choral pieces and one of them, Mohrange, stands out as having a magnificent soprano voice. Jean-Baptiste Maunier the kid playing Mohrange is the one actually singing the parts and he was selected after long auditions for the part.
For the movie (story) itself only **1/2, because of the music ***1/2.
Posted by TheCasualCritic on February 6, 2005 09:45 AM | TrackBack