The Chorus (2004 film)
The Chorus French Les Choristes is a 2004 GermanSwissFrench drama film directed by Christophe Barratier. Cowritten by Barratier and Philippe LopesCurvalfr , it is an adaptation of the 1945 film A Cage of Nightingales La Cage aux rossignols, which in turn was adapted by NolNol and Ren Wheeler from a story by Wheeler and Georges Chaperot. The plot involves the widely successful orchestra conductor Pierre Morhange Jacques Perrin, who returns to France when his mother dies. He reminisces about his childhood inspirations when he and his former classmate Ppinot Didier Flamand read the diary of their old music teacher Clment Mathieu Grard Jugnot. In 1949, a young Morhange is the badly behaved son of single mother Violette Marie Bunel. He attends the boarding institution for difficult boys, Fond de Ltang Bottom of the Pond, presided over by strict headmaster Mr Rachin Franois Berland. New teacher Mathieu brightens up the school and assembles a choir, leading to the discovery of Morhanges musical and physical talents and a transformation in the children. At the 77th Academy Awards, The Chorus was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Song the latter for Vois sur ton chemin, listed as Look to Your Path.
In 1949, fifty years earlier, Clment Mathieu, a failed musician, arrives at Fond de ltang Bottom of the Pond or Rock Bottom, a French boarding school for difficult boys, to work as a supervisor. At the gates, he sees a young boy, Ppinot, waiting for Saturday at the schools gate, where he says his father will pick him up. The viewers later learn that his parents were killed in the Second World War, but Ppinot does not know about this. Mathieu discovers the boys being ruthlessly punished by the headmaster Rachin, and attempts to use humour and kindness to win them over. When a booby trap set by Le Querrec injures the schools elderly caretaker Maxence, Mathieu keeps the culprits identity from the headmaster, while encouraging him to nurse the caretaker 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 dicipline. He groups the boys into their voice types, but one student, Morhange, 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.Morhanges single mother, Violette, 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 feeling sorry for, and attracted to, the boys beleaguered mother, and instead tells her that Morhange is at the dentist. Meanwhile, a cruel, perverted boy named Mondain arrives and begins causing trouble by bullying the others 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 stricteven Rachin begins to loosen up, playing football with the boys and making a paper aeroplane. After Mondain is released from lockup, he runs away. At the same time, all the schools money disappears. Rachin beats Mondain, who
Source: Wikipedia
