The Chorus (Les Choristes) poster & wallpaper
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Gérard Jugnot, François Berléand, Kad Merad, Jacques Perrin, Jean-Baptiste Maunier ... see more see more... , Marie Bunel , Jean-Paul Bonnaire , Philippe Du Janerand , Maxence Perrin , Didier Flamand , Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc Choir , Carole Weiss , Cyril Bernicot , Erick Desmarestz , Paul Charieras , Thomas Blumenthal , Gregory Gatignol

French producer and musician Christophe Barratier makes his directorial debut with the drama Les Choristes, inspired by the 1947 film La Cage aux Rossignols. Wildly successful orchestra conductor Pier... read more read more...re Morhange (Jacques Perrin) returns home when his mother dies. He recollects his childhood inspirations through the pages of a diary kept by his old music teacher Clément Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot). Back in the late '40s, little Pierre (Jean-Baptiste Maunier) is the badly behaved son of single mother Violette (Marie Bunel). He attends a dreary boarding school presided over by strict headmaster Rachin (François Berléand). New teacher Mathieu brightens up the place and organizes a choir, leading to the discovery of Pierre's musical talents. Featuring performances by Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc Choir. Les Choristes was shown at the Berlin Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

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92% liked it

33,030 ratings

Critics

68% liked it

106 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: Christophe Barratier

Release Date: January 14, 2005

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DVD Release Date: May 3, 2005

Stats: 2,250 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,250)

  • itsjustme2004
    December 10, 2011
    itsjustme2004
    Beautiful movie! Sweet. Heart warming. Charming. The actual chorus of young children they used for this movie sang like angels. This little film gives me hope that if children are engaged in the arts in some form, it becomes possible for them to overcome, or at least survive, the... read more damage of earlier years of neglect.
  • fb1216165431
    September 10, 2011
    fb1216165431
    The Chorus is a charming story of hope infused with so much optimism and nostalgia. Genuine, heartwarming, and greatly inspiring. A humble, beautiful ballad to celebrate innocence and beauty. A joyful watch. Resonating.
  • FrizzDrop
    September 8, 2010
    FrizzDrop
    Family friendly, heartfelt, and a cinematic masterpiece. A contender for Best Foreign Film, it delivers.
  • arashxak
    May 5, 2008
    arashxak
    Power of music, A good feel-good movie
  • binky013
    April 11, 2007
    binky013
    In my old age, I've sometimes discovered that what with Turner, FLIX, IFC, HBO, MAX, and a neverending Netflix queue, it's easy to become jaded about films, hardened and growing harder as lots of mediocre movies come flying at me really fast. Then suddenly, flixster friends, jus... read moret at the point where I'm sometimes almost ready to believe that I might actually give up on movies, I'll run across a film like this one, and my heart, I kid you not, literally sings. My ever-thickening armor appears still to have a chink or two in it : )

    If you are a fan of any of the following movies, Les Choristes may be a viewing experience you might enjoy. Think Going My Way; Fame; Oliver; Cinema Paradiso; Goodbye, Mr. Chips (either Donat or O'Toole); Billy Elliot; and Dead Poets Society, just to name a few of the movies that flashed through my mind while I watched this.

    Les Choristes is pure joy, and even the romantic tribulations of choirmaster Mathieu and speculation about his possible failed last chance at love could not take me anywhere but up. I am so glad I ran across this one. It jumps into my top 100 immediately.
  • ajaymuthecooldevils
    May 29, 2006
    ajaymuthecooldevils
    Yes... The Chorus is magic...
  • kylemydude
    April 12, 2010
    kylemydude
    A beautiful little film.
  • HenrikSchunk
    January 22, 2010
    HenrikSchunk
    A charming, little french movie about a school teacher and his fight against the stiff director and for his rascals. I say "little" movie, because the film has a very b-movie feel about it. The humour is subtle, so is the direction and the acting. As with many french comedies (or... read more comedy/dramas), the tone is slightly flamboyant and the lust for life (passion pour la vie) emits from the screen. The cast works quite well, despite being very typecast and grotesque at times. The lead (Jugnot) is faboulous as the goofy, but good hearted teacher, so is the mean Berleand. The boys are quite solid in their performance as well, also their stories are not told independently of the main character, so they are rather one-sided characters in the movie. Maybe it is just me, but I thought that the movie had quite a homosexual undertone (History Boys in French) which was a bit discomforting considering the age of the boys, but as I said, maybe that is just me, there is no direct indication for that.

    The ending is as you would expect it, but not as bombastic and flat as in American mainstream cinema, more subtle and believable, it also ties in nicely with the story.

    Id recommend this movie for rainy Tuesday evening. You guys know what I am trying to say.

    HX
  • mvieaddict
    June 13, 2009
    mvieaddict
    Les Choristes is a story told in a flashback, when a reunion occurs between two men who were in the school together a half century earlier.
    The film invited us to understand these boys sensibility and why there were treated so badly. In fact, they have always been treated badly ... read moreby institutions, educators and parents. The importance of fathers in their lives and their great need for a substitute, because the natural fathers were missing, was beautifully explored in this film. The screenplay was very effective in showing how the combination of giving boys strong education, or winning their heart with tenderness was possible. This film helped to understand how the human being can be hard at one moment, and sweet to the next.
    A worth to watch.
  • littlecharmer1959
    December 26, 2008
    littlecharmer1959
    I actually missed the last 30 minutes of this but I'll rate it judging on what I've seen so far. Nothing new but rather charming.

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Critic Reviews

Roger Moore
April 29, 2005
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

It never aims higher than a sweet sort of middling. And it succeeds. Full Review

Nelson Pressley
January 28, 2005
Nelson Pressley, Washington Post

Ultimately effective on its own unambitious terms, but it's not the freshest thing to come down the pike. Full Review

Peter Howell
January 28, 2005
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Rises above feelgood status by virtue of its credible acting and outstanding score. Full Review

Walter V. Addiego
January 28, 2005
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle

It says nothing new about its well-worn theme of teacher as deliverer. Full Review

Rick Groen
January 28, 2005
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

Jugnot has worked his magic on the audience long before Mathieu performs his miracle with the students. Full Review

Tom Long
January 28, 2005
Tom Long, Detroit News

Simple, slight and a bit saccharine, Les Choristes may satisfy a sweet tooth, but anyone wishing to bite deeply into something will be disappointed.

Terry Lawson
January 28, 2005
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Barratier seems to have culled the stereotypes, situations and sentiments from dozens of similar movies, including the more dramatically satisfying Mr. Holland's Opus. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
January 28, 2005
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Thanks to a pitch-perfect performance by Gérard Jugnot as the teacher who brings music to a cacophonous school, the familiarity of The Chorus never breeds contempt -- or boredom. Far from it. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 28, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

This feels more like a Hollywood wannabe than a French film. Where's the quirkiness, the nuance, the deeper levels? Full Review

Wesley Morris
January 28, 2005
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

The crime of The Chorus isn't that it's corny. (I like corny.) It's that its corniness seems programmed. Full Review

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  • In french, an all boys school of misfits, a new prefect comes, who happens to be a composer, and he turns them into a beautiful boys choir.  Answer »
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