Nominated for 2 Academy Awards this year, including "Best Foreign Picture", "Les Chorites" is an inspirational French movie which reminded me of the joy I had as a little kid when I first watched "The Sound of Music", still one of my favourite movies of all time.
I think it has to do with the power of music that moves people. It has been compared to "Mr Holland's Opus" and "Music Of The Heart", but to me, it was a far more enjoyable film that the two. Set in 1949, the lead character, Monsieur Clément Mathieu, a loser in life, gets posted to a remote boys school with disciplinary problems. Faced with the autocratic style of the headmaster who believes that the only way to educate children in behaving is through tough discipline, Clément brings music in the form of a choral group to the boys, and not only earns their respect but also their love in the process.
Children are extremely difficult to work with, so it was interesting that first time director Christophe Barratier chose this topic as his inspiration, and his love shines through. It is an extremely entertaining story sprinkled with beautiful music and an enchanting voice from young actor, Jean-Baptiste Maunier who did his own singing. The ending moved my partner John and myself to tears, because it was both sweet and touching. It reminded John of another French movie "Au revoir les enfants" (a.k.a. Goodbye, Children) directed by the late Louis Malle (which was also nominated for Oscars in Best Foreign Film and Best Original Screenplay. Unfortunately, I am unable to watch it yet because of its unavailability on DVD.
I can understand the apprehension at watching it because I had them and there have been so many of such stories and most of them are not very impressive. Maybe it is the French mystique that brings an elegance to this lovable story, which makes it sentimental but not saccharine. Not to be missed.
Rating: 8/10
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