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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE CHORUS
The Chorus

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The Chorus (2005)

68%
61%
85%
N/A
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N/A
68 %
Reviews Counted: 102 Fresh: 69  Rotten:33 Average Rating: 6.5/10
 
Consensus: While predictable, this low-key heartwarmer manages to be uplifting without overdoing the sentiment. While predictable, this low-key heartwarmer manages to be uplifting without overdoing the sentiment. more
 
Rated: PG-13
Runtime: 1 hr 37 mins
Theatrical Release: Jan 14, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $3,411,208
Synopsis:
A memorable entry in the genre of inspirational pedagogical films, THE CHORUS is an uplifting tale of a masterful teacher who put his heart into his work and changed the lives of his students forever. With a soundtrack of boys' singing, the lovely music of this film is the glue that will stick to... [More]
A memorable entry in the genre of inspirational pedagogical films, THE CHORUS is an uplifting tale of a masterful teacher who put his heart into his work and changed the lives of his students forever. With a soundtrack of boys' singing, the lovely music of this film is the glue that will stick to viewers long after watching it. Set in 1940s rural France, at a school for poor boys who are delinquent or orphaned, the story feels timeless in the way that it captures a crucial moment in the lives of the boys involved. Ranging from early elementary school level to junior high, the boys struggle for independence and self-expression. They defy authority, especially when it comes from their brutally unfair and abusive headmaster, Rachin (Francois Berleand). And in general, because they feel neglected by their families, or don't have any family at all, there is something disjointed and sullen about the boys. Only after their teacher, Clement Mathieu (Gerard Jugnot), shows them that he will guide them, befriend them, and teach them by peaking their curiosity, not by insisting or punishing, do they begin to change. The choir he forms, and the songs he teaches the boys, become a source of pride for them, allowing them to rise above the confines of their meager and stifling school, and dream of a bright future. Director/writer Christophe Barratier has created a moving and beautiful film with more than a few life lessons hidden within. The music, written by Bruno Coulais, features the angelic voice of Jean-Paul Bonnaire, who plays Morhange in the film. [Less]

Genre: Foreign Films

Starring: Gerard Jugnot, Francois Berleand, Kad Merad, Jean-Paul Bonnaire, Marie Bunel

Director: Christophe Barratier
Screenwriter: Christophe Barratier
Composer: Bruno Coulais

DVD Info

Release:

May 3, 2005

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case

Buy It On DVD

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So infused with nostalgia, optimism and authenticity, it will prove irresistible to the older art-house demographic.

Full Review | Comment
03/01/07 03:55 AM
Doris Toumarkine
Film Journal International
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Les Choristes isn't quite as forced and syrupy as Mr. Holland's Opus or Music of the Heart, but it's not a classic like To Sir with Love or Goodbye, Mr. Chips either.

Full Review | Comment
10/11/06 12:43 PM
Russ Breimeier
Christianity Today
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04/01/06 04:30 AM
Empire Magazine
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02/09/06 03:16 AM
Time Out
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12/06/05 07:34 PM
Film Threat
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The Chorus resonates through the brie.

Full Review | Comment
11/18/05 06:10 AM
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)
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even the most formulaic films can be rescued when formulas are applied by real talents

Full Review | Comment
10/12/05 07:37 AM
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
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09/26/05 03:15 AM
Onion AV Club
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07/21/05 03:25 AM
Houston Chronicle
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Un peu de rose bonbon, ça se prend bien de temps en temps, même dans le monde du cinéma.

Full Review | Comment
06/25/05 01:40 PM
Louis-Jérôme Cloutier
Panorama
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Dudo que Los Coristas deje alguna huella en el espectador por demasiado tiempo, pero sin duda saldremos del cine con una sonrisa en los labios (...)

Full Review | Comment
06/05/05 09:54 PM
Enrique Buchichio
Uruguay Total
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Full Review | Comment
06/04/05 03:26 AM
Marrit Ingman
Austin Chronicle
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It never aims higher than a sweet sort of middling. And it succeeds.

Full Review | Comment
04/29/05 12:59 PM
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
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The way that it embraces convention rather than invention makes Mr. Holland's Opus look like Pulp Fiction.

Full Review | Comment
04/14/05 09:01 PM
Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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The story has a lot of unexpected twists and turns.

Full Review | Comment
04/13/05 01:11 PM
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
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Somehow with all the heartstrings pulled, I didn't feel anything more than being manipulated.

Full Review | Comment
04/03/05 05:57 PM
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
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The pudgy, nondescript Jugnot certainly doesn't look like leading-man material, but he delivers a low-key, carefully modulated performance and droll humor to finesse the movie's melodramatic streak and send us out flicking away a tear.

Full Review | Comment
04/01/05 02:53 PM
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star
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The Chorus is a fresh permutation on the Dead Poet's Society type theme.

Full Review | Comment
03/24/05 10:15 PM
Jonathan W. Hickman
Entertainment Insiders
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The premise may seem a little hokey, but Barratier's characters are too endearing to be dismissed with cynicism.

Full Review | Comment
03/16/05 04:48 PM
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star
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This is a movie fraught with clichés, yet also so full of beautiful music and innocent merriness that its more mawkish attributes are overlooked.

Full Review | Comment
03/16/05 02:56 PM
Eric D. Snider
EricDSnider.com
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Related Forums

Bravo for The Chorus
by: chillufl 8/29/06


Darko, Donnie
The Chorus gets the nod from France for Oscar's Best Foreign Film category ...
by: Darko, Donnie 5/7/05
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News

London Movie Critics Present Their '05 Nominations
posted by Scott Weinberg December 16, 2005
Movie City News shares with us a press release from the London Film Critics Group in which their various nominations are...

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