The Chorus (2004 film)
Encyclopedia
The Chorus is a 2004 French drama film
directed by Christophe Barratier
. Co-written by Barratier and Philippe Lopes-Curval, it is an adaptation of the 1945 film A Cage of Nightingales
(La Cage aux Rossignols), which in turn was adapted by Noël-Noël and René Wheeler
from a story by Wheeler and Georges Chaperot
.
Widely successful orchestra conductor Pierre Morhange (Jacques Perrin
) returns to France when his mother dies. He reminiscences about his childhood inspirations through the pages of a diary kept by his old music teacher Clément Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot
). In 1949, a young Pierre (Jean-Baptiste Maunier
) is the badly behaved son of single mother Violette (Marie Bunel). He attends a boarding institution, Fond de L'Etang, for "difficult" boys presided over by strict headmaster Mr. Rachin (François Berléand
). New teacher Mathieu brightens up the school and assembles a choir, leading to the discovery of Pierre's musical talents and a transformation in the children.
In France in 1949, Clément Mathieu, who in his own words has failed at everything else, arrives at the gates of Fond de l'Etang (Bottom of the Pond), a boarding school for "difficult" boys. At the gate he sees a young child, Pépinot, who is waiting for Saturday, which is when his father is supposed to come for him. Pépinot had never been told the fact that his parents were killed years previously in the Second World War, and, strangely, always believed that his father would come back on a Saturday.
In his first week at the school, Mathieu discovers the boys being ruthlessly punished by the headmaster Rachin. Mathieu attempts to use humour and kindness to win them over. When a booby trap set by one of the boys, a troublemaker named Le Querrec, injures the school's elderly caretaker, Mathieu keeps the boy's identity from the headmaster, while encouraging the boy to nurse the caretaker during his recovery.
On discovering the boys singing rude songs about him behind his back one night, Mathieu, who is a musician and composer, forms a plan - he will teach them to sing, and form a choir. As he groups the boys into soprano
, alto
etc., one student, Morhange, refused to sing. He caught Morhange singing to himself one day and discovers that Morhange has a wonderful singing voice. Mathieu awards him solo parts on the condition that he behave.
One day, Morhange's mother Violette arrives at the school. When Mathieu goes down to explain that Morhange cannot be visited because he has been locked up as a punishment after writing rude notes about the headmaster, he finds himself sorry for, and attracted to, the boy's beleaguered mother, and instead tells her that Morhange is at the dentist.
Meanwhile, a cruel "perverted" boy named Mondain has arrived at the school, and begins causing trouble - bullying and extorting money from the other boys, smoking in class, and generally rebelling. After stealing a watch, he is locked up for 2 weeks as punishment.
Mathieu notices that the school is taking a turn for the better: The choir is improving rapidly with Morhange as its lead soloist, the children are happier, the faculty less stiff, and even Rachin begins to loosen up, playing with the boys and practising flying a paper airplane.
Mondain is eventually released from confinement and promptly runs away from the school. At the same time, all of the school's money disappears. The headmaster beats Mondain, who attempts to strangle Rachin. Rachin hands him over to the police, despite not knowing the location of the stolen money. At the same time, he hears the children singing vulgar songs about him. Furious, Rachin disbands the group. They go "underground", practicing at night.
It is soon revealed that another boy, Corbin, stole the money that Mondain was accused of taking. Despite this, Rachin refuses to accept Mondain back at the school. Mathieu is upset at this injustice—besides, Mondain had been his only baritone
.
Mathieu continues to meet Morhange's mother, to share his plans to help her son win a scholarship to the music conservatory. His attraction to the mother is obvious to the audience, but not to her. One day she blithely informs him that he has brought her good luck, as she has met an engineer whom she hopes to marry.
Rachin discovers that the school's main sponsor, the Countess, has found out about the choir and decides to claim it as his own idea. The choir performs to the Countess and others, with Morhange enchanting the audience with his solo.
As Rachin goes to accept an award from the board for "rescuing" the boys and reforming them, Mathieu and the school's caretaker rebel by taking the boys into the woods to enjoy the sunshine. While they are out, Mondain returns and sets fire to the roof.
Mathieu is fired for breaking the rules, even though he saved the boys' lives. As he leaves, the boys, who are forbidden to say goodbye, throw messages to him on paper planes out of the window. Touched, he waves farewell.
Back in the present, the conductor, who has been revealed to be Morhange, finishes reading the diary and recounts what happened afterwards. Morhange won his scholarship to the conservatory, and the headmaster, Rachin, was fired for his brutal discipline. Mathieu, Pépinot relates, continued to give music lessons quietly for the rest of his life.
The final scene shows Mathieu waiting for his bus after being fired. As he boards the bus he looks back and finds Pépinot running after him, insisting that he come too. Initially Mathieu refuses, saying that this is not allowed. But he gives in and they board the bus together, and we hear Mathieu narrating, saying that Pépinot had got his dream, for Mathieu and he left on a Saturday.
in Puy-de-Dôme
.
The film was shown at the Chicago International Film Festival
, the Austin Film Festival
, the Heartland Film Festival
, the Milwaukee International Film Festival, and the Scottsdale Film Festival in the U.S. before opening in Los Angeles
in time to qualify for the 77th Academy Awards
.
The songs in the film were performed by Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc
.
Les Choristes had a worldwide gross of $82,737,984 including $3,629,758 in the U.S.
Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
2005 Nominated Oscar Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Bruno Coulais (composer)
Christophe Barratier (lyricist)
For the song "Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)".
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
France.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Christophe Barratier
Christophe Barratier
Christophe Barratier , son of actress Eva Simonet and nephew of film director Jacques Perrin, is a French film producer, film director and screenwriter. He has directed three hugely successful features films The Chorus...
. Co-written by Barratier and Philippe Lopes-Curval, it is an adaptation of the 1945 film A Cage of Nightingales
A Cage of Nightingales
A Cage of Nightingales is a 1945 French film directed by Jean Dréville. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Story, and served as an inspiration for the film The Chorus .-Synopsis:...
(La Cage aux Rossignols), which in turn was adapted by Noël-Noël and René Wheeler
René Wheeler
René Wheeler was a French screenwriter and film director. He co-wrote the story of the film A Cage of Nightingales with Georges Chaperot, for which they both received an Academy Award nomination in 1947. Their story would later serve as an inspiration for the hugely successful film The Chorus...
from a story by Wheeler and Georges Chaperot
Georges Chaperot
Georges Chaperot is a French screenwriter who co-wrote the story of the film A Cage of Nightingales with René Wheeler, for which they both received an Academy Award nomination in 1947. Their story would later serve as an inspiration for the hugely successful film The Chorus .-External links:...
.
Widely successful orchestra conductor Pierre Morhange (Jacques Perrin
Jacques Perrin
Jacques Perrin is a French actor and filmmaker. He is occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Simonet was his father's name and Perrin his mother's.-Life and career:...
) returns to France when his mother dies. He reminiscences about his childhood inspirations through the pages of a diary kept by his old music teacher Clément Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot
Gérard Jugnot
Gérard Jugnot is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer.Jugnot was one of the founders of the comedy troupe Le Splendid in the 1970s, along with, among others, his high-school friends Christian Clavier, Thierry Lhermitte, and Michel Blanc...
). In 1949, a young Pierre (Jean-Baptiste Maunier
Jean-Baptiste Maunier
Jean-Baptiste Maunier , nicknamed JB or Jean-Bapt, is a French actor and singer famous for his role in the 2004 French film, Les Choristes.- Early life :...
) is the badly behaved son of single mother Violette (Marie Bunel). He attends a boarding institution, Fond de L'Etang, for "difficult" boys presided over by strict headmaster Mr. Rachin (François Berléand
François Berléand
François Berléand is a French actor.Berléand was born in Paris, France of . He plays Gilles Triquet, the officer manager and equivalent of David Brent in Le Bureau, the French version of The Office, produced by Canal+. He released a book about his childhood in 2006, Le fils de l'homme invisible...
). New teacher Mathieu brightens up the school and assembles a choir, leading to the discovery of Pierre's musical talents and a transformation in the children.
Plot
50 years after the main story takes place, a man is shown conducting a chorus. While conducting, he is informed that his mother has died. After the performance, he returns home for the funeral. Soon, an old friend called Pépinot arrives at his door with a diary. It is the diary of their teacher, Mathieu, and they read it together.In France in 1949, Clément Mathieu, who in his own words has failed at everything else, arrives at the gates of Fond de l'Etang (Bottom of the Pond), a boarding school for "difficult" boys. At the gate he sees a young child, Pépinot, who is waiting for Saturday, which is when his father is supposed to come for him. Pépinot had never been told the fact that his parents were killed years previously in the Second World War, and, strangely, always believed that his father would come back on a Saturday.
In his first week at the school, Mathieu discovers the boys being ruthlessly punished by the headmaster Rachin. Mathieu attempts to use humour and kindness to win them over. When a booby trap set by one of the boys, a troublemaker named Le Querrec, injures the school's elderly caretaker, Mathieu keeps the boy's identity from the headmaster, while encouraging the boy to nurse the caretaker during his recovery.
On discovering the boys singing rude songs about him behind his back one night, Mathieu, who is a musician and composer, forms a plan - he will teach them to sing, and form a choir. As he groups the boys into soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, alto
Alto
Alto is a musical term, derived from the Latin word altus, meaning "high" in Italian, that has several possible interpretations.When designating instruments, "alto" frequently refers to a member of an instrumental family that has the second highest range, below that of the treble or soprano. Hence,...
etc., one student, Morhange, refused to sing. He caught Morhange singing to himself one day and discovers that Morhange has a wonderful singing voice. Mathieu awards him solo parts on the condition that he behave.
One day, Morhange's mother Violette arrives at the school. When Mathieu goes down to explain that Morhange cannot be visited because he has been locked up as a punishment after writing rude notes about the headmaster, he finds himself sorry for, and attracted to, the boy's beleaguered mother, and instead tells her that Morhange is at the dentist.
Meanwhile, a cruel "perverted" boy named Mondain has arrived at the school, and begins causing trouble - bullying and extorting money from the other boys, smoking in class, and generally rebelling. After stealing a watch, he is locked up for 2 weeks as punishment.
Mathieu notices that the school is taking a turn for the better: The choir is improving rapidly with Morhange as its lead soloist, the children are happier, the faculty less stiff, and even Rachin begins to loosen up, playing with the boys and practising flying a paper airplane.
Mondain is eventually released from confinement and promptly runs away from the school. At the same time, all of the school's money disappears. The headmaster beats Mondain, who attempts to strangle Rachin. Rachin hands him over to the police, despite not knowing the location of the stolen money. At the same time, he hears the children singing vulgar songs about him. Furious, Rachin disbands the group. They go "underground", practicing at night.
It is soon revealed that another boy, Corbin, stole the money that Mondain was accused of taking. Despite this, Rachin refuses to accept Mondain back at the school. Mathieu is upset at this injustice—besides, Mondain had been his only baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
.
Mathieu continues to meet Morhange's mother, to share his plans to help her son win a scholarship to the music conservatory. His attraction to the mother is obvious to the audience, but not to her. One day she blithely informs him that he has brought her good luck, as she has met an engineer whom she hopes to marry.
Rachin discovers that the school's main sponsor, the Countess, has found out about the choir and decides to claim it as his own idea. The choir performs to the Countess and others, with Morhange enchanting the audience with his solo.
As Rachin goes to accept an award from the board for "rescuing" the boys and reforming them, Mathieu and the school's caretaker rebel by taking the boys into the woods to enjoy the sunshine. While they are out, Mondain returns and sets fire to the roof.
Mathieu is fired for breaking the rules, even though he saved the boys' lives. As he leaves, the boys, who are forbidden to say goodbye, throw messages to him on paper planes out of the window. Touched, he waves farewell.
Back in the present, the conductor, who has been revealed to be Morhange, finishes reading the diary and recounts what happened afterwards. Morhange won his scholarship to the conservatory, and the headmaster, Rachin, was fired for his brutal discipline. Mathieu, Pépinot relates, continued to give music lessons quietly for the rest of his life.
The final scene shows Mathieu waiting for his bus after being fired. As he boards the bus he looks back and finds Pépinot running after him, insisting that he come too. Initially Mathieu refuses, saying that this is not allowed. But he gives in and they board the bus together, and we hear Mathieu narrating, saying that Pépinot had got his dream, for Mathieu and he left on a Saturday.
Cast
- Gérard JugnotGérard JugnotGérard Jugnot is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer.Jugnot was one of the founders of the comedy troupe Le Splendid in the 1970s, along with, among others, his high-school friends Christian Clavier, Thierry Lhermitte, and Michel Blanc...
- Clément Mathieu - François BerléandFrançois BerléandFrançois Berléand is a French actor.Berléand was born in Paris, France of . He plays Gilles Triquet, the officer manager and equivalent of David Brent in Le Bureau, the French version of The Office, produced by Canal+. He released a book about his childhood in 2006, Le fils de l'homme invisible...
- Rachin - Kad MeradKad MeradKad Merad, real name Kaddour Merad, is a French-Algerian actor who has acted both on stage and on screen.-As actor:* 2001: La Grande Vie ! - le motard* 2003: Bloody Christmas - l'homme...
- Chabert - Jean-Paul Bonnaire - Maxence
- Marie Bunel - Violette Morhange
- Jean-Baptiste MaunierJean-Baptiste MaunierJean-Baptiste Maunier , nicknamed JB or Jean-Bapt, is a French actor and singer famous for his role in the 2004 French film, Les Choristes.- Early life :...
- Pierre Morhange - Maxence PerrinMaxence PerrinMaxence Perrin is a French actor, best known for his parts in Les Choristes , Petit homme and For intérieur.He is the son of actor and film producer Jacques Perrin.-Filmography:...
- Pépinot - Grégory Gatignol - Mondain
- Cyril Bernicot - Le Querrec
- Jacques PerrinJacques PerrinJacques Perrin is a French actor and filmmaker. He is occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Simonet was his father's name and Perrin his mother's.-Life and career:...
- Adult Morhange - Didier Flamand - Adult Pépinot
Production
The film was shot on location at Château de RavelChâteau de Ravel
The Château de Ravel is a castle situated in the commune of Ravel, in the département of Puy-de-Dôme, France.The castle of Revel was begun by Bernard de Revel, noted in 1171. Purchased by Philip III of France in 1283, it was given by Philip IV to his future chancellor, Pierre Flotte...
in Puy-de-Dôme
Puy-de-Dôme
Puy-de-Dôme is a department in the centre of France named after the famous dormant volcano, the Puy-de-Dôme.Inhabitants were called Puydedomois until December 2005...
.
The film was shown at the Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
, the Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...
, the Heartland Film Festival
Heartland Film Festival
The Heartland Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. First held in 1992, its goal is to "recognize and honor filmmakers whose work explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life."In May 2007, Heartland...
, the Milwaukee International Film Festival, and the Scottsdale Film Festival in the U.S. before opening in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in time to qualify for the 77th Academy Awards
77th Academy Awards
The 77th Academy Awards honored the best films of 2004 and were held on February 27, 2005, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California. They were hosted by comedian Chris Rock.The nominees were announced on January 25, 2005...
.
The songs in the film were performed by Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc
Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc
Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc is a children's choir, founded in September 1986 by Nicolas Carries. It is a mixed unit composed of seventy-five to eighty school-aged children from ten to fifteen years old. All are provided education from the Saint-Marc college in Lyon.-Admittance:Children join...
.
Les Choristes had a worldwide gross of $82,737,984 including $3,629,758 in the U.S.
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards, USAYear Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
2005 Nominated Oscar Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Bruno Coulais (composer)
Christophe Barratier (lyricist)
For the song "Look To Your Path (Vois Sur Ton Chemin)".
Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
France.