Les Choristes (The Chorus)

The title of this blog bears the same title of a movie we saw in class. Yes, it is a French movie which requires us to read the subtitles (as we normally do). A few classes back some of us stated that their problem with English is that they depend too much on the subtitles. Well, so now the subtitles are in English so we have no choice but to depend on them ;)

Basically this movie starts with a phone call about Pierre Morhange's mother's death, which brought him back to his hometown. Pierre is an orchestra conductor and we can see that he has a great passion for music.

After the funeral, an old friend of Pierre named Pepinot came to the house. They started reminiscing about their past, which was at a school for troubled children. According to the narrator, which in this case is Clement Mathieu who worked as a supervisor at the school, the school's name itself reflected the kind of situation he got himself into (Fond de L'Etang – Rock bottom).The director of the school, Monsieur Rachin, uses a harsh disciplinary system to cope with the students' naughty pranks. In my opinion, his 'action-reaction' system which punishes students inhumanely is not necessary and it just might be the reason for the students' never-ending ill behaviour. The hiring of Monsieur Mathieu as the new supervisor changed everything. Sure, the students are just as naughty as before, but he discovered a rare and hidden talent in them, and used it to their own good. Because of his love for music, he conducted a choir with the students as his singers. Many things happened during the period of his teaching, including the entry of a very troubled student, Pascal Mondain, and bad attitudes from the director, and also an unrequited love scene between Mathieu and Violette Morhange. The jokes and witty dialogues add a little more spice to this already cleverly-made movie. The story ends with Mathieu getting fired from the school, but his unselfish effort to help the students made him remembered forever.

At first, I’m not too keen to watch this movie because I don’t really like European movies. American style is different, but I’ve watched Creep (a British film) and Amelie (French) and both of them consist of scenes that might not be suitable for some. I am open-minded and all, but sometimes you just can’t take so much of it. But Amelie’s storyline is original, and I like it. After all, the main actress (Audrey Tautou) has recently been cast as Sophie Neveu in The Da Vinci Code, (my favourite book!) and the movie Amelie won an award, I think. What I noticed in those movies (including The Chorus) is that they are fast-paced and unpredictable, which is good because you need the element of surprise when watching a movie. Believe me, if anyone gave me the spoiler for any movie, I will never watch it. I’ve done this before. ;)

Anyway, back to The Chorus. Basically it is about a teacher who uses a different approach in teaching his students and catching their attention. Mathieu’s character is a good man who does things for others and not hoping for anything in return. I like the way he handles the students and the crazy things they do. His patience and ability to understand people is admirable. Pierre Morhange, even though he is one of the main characters in this story, the focus is not just on him. My favourite character is Pepinot, who first met Mathieu at the school gate, and ends by following him back home. He has waited a long time for a father figure and at last that is what he got. The antagonist in this story is Pascal Mondain, the troubled boy who was wrongly accused of stealing and had his revenge by burning down the school, and Rachin, the unnecessarily-strict director of the school. He even took credit for the choir which he doesn’t like at first, but only did so in front of the Countess. Even so, he has his cute moments when he made paper airplanes and joined the students when they’re playing soccer. I think Mathieu’s ways has softened him up a bit. This movie also shows the family values which is portrayed by Pierre and his mother, Violette. No matter what, blood is thicker than water. Violette only wants what’s good for her child, and even left a man she loves for the sake of Pierre’s education. The boy who can’t sing but has to be the music stand (I think his name is Le Querrec) and Pepinot who doesn’t know any songs but is appointed assistant conductor shows that nobody should be left out in any activities, and Mathieu is very smart in knowing that. What else should I say? It just shows that whatever behaviour the children have, it is just a phase in growing up and they need the right people to set them straight. In the end, Pierre who was one of the naughtiest students in school ends up being successful.

You can also feel every imaginable emotion when watching this movie. Anger, pity, funny, and most of all it is a very touching movie. Cleverly made, and as I said before witty dialogues! (I always have a thing for that). The translation is also very good because all the songs have been translated, at the same time retaining the aesthetic values of the lyrics.

All in all, the movie is very good for everyone, especially for the ones who want to teach, and be taught.