"The Chorus," a French film directed by Christophe Barratier, is about a talented music teacher, Cl?ment Mathieu, who is hired as the supervisor at a school for troubled boys.
Set in 1949 in France, "The Chorus" begins when famous orchestra conductor Pierre Morhange returns home after his mother dies. His childhood friend gives him Mathieu's diary that he kept while at the school. Mathieu discovered Morhange's extraordinary singing talent while creating a choir at the school.
"The Chorus" was filmed for a modest $5.5 million in France, where it was a huge success upon its release last year. The acting is mediocre, but the boys were hand-picked by the director from a French school. Their beautiful voices are not their own; they are the dubbed voices of a French choir. It makes sense, since it would be unlikely that a group of boys suddenly developed near-perfect singing voices overnight.
The Chorus is simple and predictable, as Mathieu transforms a group of ill-mannered schoolboys into a sensational choir, while dealing with the classic authoritarian headmaster who's trying to stop Mathieu's musical ambitions. Similar to "Mr. Holland's Opus," The Chorus is heartwarming and pleasant, the perfect family-friendly movie.
