Les Choristes
If you enjoyed inspirational teaching movies like Dead Poets Society, Dangerous Minds, and in particular music teaching films like Music of the Heart and Mr Holland's Opus, then Les Choristes (The Choirboys) is right up your alley a tale about how a teacher who loves music and choir-singing transforms a bunch of rebellious boys into a melodious choir, Les Choristes offers a pretty much run-of-the-mill cinematic experience.
The film is set in flashback, with two students of a certain Mr Clement Mathieu (Gerard Jugnot), Pierre Morhange (Jacques Perrin, then Jean-Baptiste Maunier in flashback) and Pepinot (Didier Flamand, then Maxence Perrin in flashback) reminiscing the good old days, almost 50 years back, when Mathieu first arrived at their school, full of juvenile delinquents that society had given up on. As they flip through Mathieu's diary, they relive the moments that they had with Mathieu, from his arrival to setting up a boy's choir, and his indomitable spirit which affects and changes not only the boys he is teaching, but also the school itself.
The acting in Les Choristes is reasonable, and some of the children are really very cute. However, characterizations are limited, and even the lead character of Mathieu remains quite flat and one-dimensional when the credits roll. There are interesting plot points that never get much attention, for example the relationship between Morhange and his single, working mother. However, Jean-Baptiste Maunier truly has an angelic voice, and the music in Les Choristes help to cover up the other flaws it has. The understated denouement may also fail to appeal to some audiences, who would prefer a more complete ending to the movie, although personally I found that it managed to hit the right note.
