Les Choristes (The Chorus)

So a few weeks ago, I discovered that you could actually scroll down a computer screen by swiping the mousepad in a downward motion with two fingers.

 

HOLY SHIT.

 

My mind was blown.

 

It felt like a whole world of possibilities had opened up to me. I mean, I could now browse webpages whilst holding a sandwich in one hand!

 

That feeling I got from making a life-changing discovery? I felt it again at the end of this movie.

 

 

A scene from the The Chorus 

 

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Les Choristes (The Chorus) came out in 2004. That means I had nine years to watch this film. Nine! I remember vaguely my dad telling me about a French film he'd recorded off SBS. He'd said it was about a boy's boarding school and music. Obviously, I ignored him. My dad thinks everything that comes out of SBS is made of gold and should be framed, embossed and stuck to the wall. Therefore it's not my fault I developed selective hearing when it came to his film recommendations.

 

I really should've listened to my dad that one time.

 

My sister was made to watch The Chorus during French class. It was through her that I was finally convinced to give it a go. I'm so glad I did because WHERE HAS THIS FILM BEEN ALL MY LIFE??

 

 

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Everything was just right up my alley; from the simple storyline of a teacher trying to transform a school of delinquents into disciplined boys' choir, to the glorious glorious music.

 

Yes the music was glorious and I wish I could fill up a whole swimming pool with that stuff and just bathe in it for the rest of my life.

 

I loved the singing, I loved the acting and I loved little Pepinot (he's the one sitting on the table in that screenshot).

 

Above all, I luuuuuuuurved Jean Baptiste Maunier (who plays a deeply troubled student with an angelic voice - and is it just me or does every film seem to have a character along these lines?).

 

 

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Wiki says that the director chose Maunier because he 'had the right look', a marvelous voice and was exceptionally appealing for the role. He, along with the actor who played the teacher, shouldered the whole film. There's a quiet intensity in his character that really draws you in. I'm not sure how much of that is acting ability and how much is his real personality but damn if it isn't effective.

 

And guys, he's 22 now so that makes me gushing over him less of an icky thing. Especially since nowadays, he looks like this:

 

 

If you thought I would get through this review without posting up at least one shallow comment, you don't know me very well at all.

 

It was just a really feel-good film that made me smile and laugh a little. There's no hidden darkness in this one - it's not trying to give a social commentary on war or poverty or cancer. It's just about a composer-turned-teacher who wants to help change the lives of some children at a boarding school. I loved every bit of it.