The Chorus (2004 film)
The Chorus | |
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Miramax Films | |
Directed by | Christophe Barratier |
Written by |
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Based on | A Cage of Nightingales |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography |
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Edited by | Yves Deschamps |
Music by | Pathé Distribution (France, United Kingdom and Ireland) Constantin Film (Germany and Austria)[1] Vega Film (Switzerland)[1] |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes[2] |
Countries |
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Language | French |
Budget | $5.3 million |
Box office | $83.6 million[3] |
The Chorus (
At the
Plot
In 2004, Pierre Morhange (Jacques Perrin), a French conductor performing in the United States, is informed before a concert that his mother has died. After the performance he returns to his home in France for her funeral. An old friend named Pépinot (Didier Flamand) arrives at his door with a diary which belonged to their teacher, Clément Mathieu. They proceed to read it together.
In 1950, fifty-four years earlier, Clément Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot), a failed musician, arrives at Fond de l'Étang ("Bottom of the Pond"), a French boarding school for troubled boys of all ages, to work as a supervisor and teacher. At the gate, he sees a very young boy, Pépinot (Maxence Perrin), waiting for Saturday, when he says his father will pick him up. The viewers later learn that his parents were killed in the Second World War during the Nazi occupation of France, but Pépinot does not know this.
Mathieu discovers the boys being ruthlessly punished by the very strict headmaster, Rachin (François Berléand) and attempts to use humour and kindness to win them over. When a booby trap set by one of the boys, Le Querrec, injures the school's elderly caretaker, Maxence (Jean-Paul Bonnaire), Mathieu keeps the culprit's identity from the headmaster, while encouraging Le Querrec to nurse Maxence during his recovery.
On discovering the boys singing rude songs about him, Mathieu forms a plan: he will teach them to sing and form a choir as a form of discipline. He groups the boys according to their voice types, but one student, Pierre Morhange (Jean-Baptiste Maunier), refuses to sing. Mathieu catches Morhange singing to himself, discovers he has a wonderful singing voice and awards him solo parts on the condition that he behaves.
Morhange's single mother, Violette (Marie Bunel), arrives at the school. When Mathieu goes to explain that Morhange cannot be visited because he has been locked up as a punishment, he finds himself pitying and being attracted to the boy's beleaguered mother and instead tells her that Morhange is at the dentist. Meanwhile, a cruel, uncontrollable boy named Mondain (Grégory Gatignol ) arrives and begins causing trouble by bullying the others, influencing others to be like him and generally being rebellious. After stealing a watch, he is locked up for two weeks.
The choir is improving rapidly with Morhange as its lead soloist; the children are happier, and the faculty less strict — even Rachin begins to loosen up, playing football with the boys and making a paper aeroplane. After Mondain is released from lock-up, he runs away and seemingly steals all the school's money. After Mondain is captured, Rachin repeatedly slaps him, until Mondain in turn attempts to strangle Rachin. Rachin hands him over to the police, still not knowing the location of the stolen money, and disbands the choir. Mathieu begins teaching his choir "underground", practising at night in their dormitory.
Mathieu continues to meet Morhange's mother, who is unaware of his attraction to her. He plans to help her son win a scholarship to the music conservatory in Lyon. One day she blithely informs him that she has met someone: an engineer. Mathieu is dejected but expresses his feigned happiness and watches her leave in the engineer's car.
The Countess, a sponsor of the school, finds out about the choir; they perform before her and others, and Morhange enchants the audience with his solo. Mathieu discovers that another boy, Corbin, stole the money that Mondain was accused of taking. Despite this, Rachin refuses to accept Mondain back at the school especially after Mathieu refuses to reveal who the real culprit is.
When Rachin departs to accept an award from the board after taking credit for the choir, Mathieu and Maxence suspend classes and take the boys on an outing. While they are out, Mondain returns and sets fire to the school. Mathieu is fired for breaking the rules, even though he saved the boys' lives, and Maxence is suspended. As Mathieu leaves, the boys —forbidden to say goodbye — lock themselves in their classroom, sing and throw farewell messages out of the window on paper planes. Touched, Mathieu walks away, musing about how he has failed and nobody knows of his existence.
Back in the present, the adult Morhange finishes reading the diary and recounts what happened afterwards: he won his scholarship to the conservatory, and Rachin was fired after his fellow teachers exposed his abuse towards the students. Mathieu, Pépinot relates, continued to give music lessons quietly for the rest of his life.
The final scene (in the past again) shows Mathieu waiting for his bus after being fired. As he boards it, he looks back and finds Pépinot running after him, insisting that he come too. Initially, Mathieu refuses because it is not allowed, and he leaves Pépinot behind. Suddenly, the bus stops and Mathieu gives in: the two board the bus together. Pépinot finally got his wish, for he and Mathieu left on a Saturday, and Mathieu raised him.
Cast
- Gérard Jugnot as Clement Mathieu, a supervisor and failed musician
- François Berléand as Rachin, the strict headmaster of Fond de L'Étang
- Jean-Baptiste Maunier as Pierre Morhange, a poorly behaved boy with a beautiful singing voice
- Jacques Perrin as adult Morhange, now a popular conductor
- Maxence Perrin as Pépinot, a young boy who refuses to believe his parents are dead
- Didier Flamand as adult Pépinot
- Kad Merad as Chabert, a physical education teacher
- Jean-Paul Bonnaire as Maxence, the school's elderly caretaker
- Marie Bunel as Violette Morhange, the single mother of Pierre
- Grégory Gatignol as Pascal Mondain, a troubled and malevolent older boy who smokes
- Cyril Bernicot as Le Querrec, the perpetrator of a booby trap which injures Maxence
Production
Development
After making the short film Les Tombales, director
Casting
The director was keen that the role of the young Pierre Morhange should be played by a real singer, and the search for him was tedious. While touring large French choirs to choose the one to record the film's soundtrack, they discovered the 12-year-old
Filming
Principal photography took place on location at the Château de Ravel in Puy-de-Dôme. Foam and salt were used as artificial snow and green leaves were removed from the grounds, since the beginning of the movie was filmed in the summer, but set in the winter. Fog machines were also used around the castle, and walls were deliberately scorched and stripped of paint to give the surroundings a "dilapidated" look, since boarding schools at the time often suffered from poor funding and management.[5] When filming his first scene in which his character Mondain tries to intimidate Clément Mathieu, Gatignol had trouble behaving menacingly towards Jugnot, who described him as "too nice". For the scene in which Morhange drops ink on Mathieu's head, gouache was used. During choir scenes, song lyrics were written on large cue cards and the classroom's blackboard to aid actors. The children who played the choir described how their singing improved through the duration of the shoot; Nicolas Porte, the choirmaster of Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc, said that this "means that the story we tell is credible". Bruno Coulais, the composer of the film's score, said that the children "are passionate about music", which is "some kind of escape to them".[5]
Soundtrack
The soundtrack for The Chorus was released on 3 May 2004 by
Release
In the United States, the film was shown at multiple film festivals—including the
Box office
The film had a worldwide gross of $83,580,890 including $3,635,164 in the United States and Canada,[11] $2,062,908 in the United Kingdom and $48,765,590 in its native France.[12] It ranked 72 on the list of the highest-grossing films of 2005 worldwide,[13] and 195 in the US and Canada.[14]
Home media
The Chorus was released on DVD in France (as Les Choristes) on 27 October 2004 by Pathé.
Reception
Critical reception
The Chorus received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes gives it a 69% "Fresh" rating, based on 108 reviews, and an average rating of 6.50/10, indicating that most reviewed it positively, and summarises that "While predictable, this low-key heartwarmer manages to be uplifting without overdoing the sentiment."[19] On Metacritic, the film holds an average score of 56 out of 100 based on 32 critics' reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20] Peter Howell of the Toronto Star commended the film's "credible acting and outstanding score", saying they allowed it to "[rise] above feelgood status". The BBC's Matthew Leyland said "even though all the notes are predictable, the film hits them with a wit, warmth and gusto."[21] Many critics felt that the film's format was predictable, and it was widely compared to other films about inspirational teachers, such as Dead Poets Society, Goodbye, Mr. Chips and Mr. Holland's Opus; The Salt Lake Tribune commented "if you've seen one inspirational-teacher melodrama ... you've seen this one, too" and criticised the movie's "one-note characters" and "plodding predictability".[22] Of the title characters, critic Roger Ebert said: "Their influence will forever change the lives of their students, and we can see that coming from the opening frame", and that The Chorus "should have added something new and unexpected". Ebert also commented that "This feels more like a Hollywood wannabe than a French film."[23]
Accolades
At the
Musical adaptation
In 2017, Christophe Barratier adapted the movie as a musical for the Folies Bergère in Paris.[31]
See also
- Boychoir
- A Cage of Nightingales
- List of French films of 2004
- List of teachers portrayed in films
- List of submissions to the 77th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of French submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- ^ UniFrance. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
- ^ "LES CHORISTES - THE CHORUS (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 22 December 2004. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
- ^ "Les Choristes (The Chorus) (2004)". Jpbox-office.com. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Les Choristes" (PDF) (Press pack) (in French). Pathé. Retrieved 31 August 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c Les Choristes : le making-of [The Chorus: the making-of] (DVD) (in French). Pathé. 2004.
- Filmtracks.com. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ^ "Les Choristes: Biography". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ^ "2004 – 40th Chicago Film Festival". Chicago International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 27 December 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ "2004 Film Awards". Austin Film Festival. Archived from the original on 13 November 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ Dargis, Manohla. "Lift Every Sweet Voice and Sing, Rascals, Sing". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ "The Chorus – Summary". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ^ "The Chorus – Foreign". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ^ "2005 Worldwide Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ^ "2005 Domestic Grosses: #101–200". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- Amazon.fr. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ^ "The Chorus (Les Choristes) (2004)". Amazon. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- Amazon.ca. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ^ "The Chorus (Les Choristes) (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
- CBS Interactive. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
- ^ Leyland, Matthew. "The Chorus (Les Choristes) (2005)". Movies. BBC. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
- MediaNews Group. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "The Chorus (Les Choristes)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 23 August 2013.
- ^ "The 77th Academy Awards (2005) Nominees and Winners". Oscar Legacy. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 10 June 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
- ^ "Film in 2005". BAFTA Film Awards. British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
- ^ "The 62nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (2005)". Golden Globe Awards. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
- ^ "26th Young Artist Awards: Winners and Nominees". Young Artist Awards. Young Artist Foundation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2008. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
- ^ "Palmères 2005 – 30th César Award Ceremony". Awards. Académie des César. Retrieved 30 August 2013. (Select "2005" in the menu on the right.)
- ^ "European Film Academy unveils 2004 nominations". Screendaily. Screen International. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
- ^ "Nos palmarès précédents" [Our Previous Winners] (PDF). Palmarès au fil des ans (in French). Académie des Lumières. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
- ^ Les choristes : le spectacle musical débarque aux Folies Bergère, on culturebox.francetvinfo.fr, consulted march, 30, 2017
Bibliography
- Leahy, Sarah. "Les Choristes (2004)" (PDF) (Study guide). Newcastle: Tyneside Cinema. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 1 September 2013.
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External links
- Official website (Archive) (in French)
- The Chorus at IMDb
- The Chorus at Box Office Mojo
- The Chorus at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Chorus at Metacritic