Review of The Chorus (2004) by Filipeneto — 15 Oct 2021

This film takes place in the mid-twentieth century, in a French reformatory for children who are orphans or who have had legal problems. The story is quite cliché, but it's extremely effective for the film, and it works wonderfully: it's a teacher's flashback passage through that reformatory. He immediately sensed the climate of repression and anger experienced in the institution, and fueled by the brutal methods of the leadership. Disagreeing with this, he began to educate the children in his own way, eventually forming a small choir that helped at least some of the young people escape delinquency.

The film is very good and one of those excellent French films that is lost due to the lack of millionaire publicity and greater interest in European cinema. It's a familiar and friendly film, with uplifting moral messages and great music. Music works not only as a language to express feelings and communicate, but also as a therapy for the accumulated anger and frustrations of that group of children.

The film's cast is headed by Gérard Jugnot, an actor I didn't know yet, even though the face is familiar to me, and I really enjoyed seeing here. François Berléand gave life to the villain, the unfriendly and rude director of the institution, but he does a very good job and steals our attention whenever he shows up. The character lived at school with his wife and kids, but I felt this was a hook for a sub-plot that never came to anything concrete. Kad Merad and Jean-Paul Bonnaire also proved to be good additions to the cast.

Technically, the film is a gem of quality at a low price. Without the spectacularity and resources of the American film industry, this film offers us exquisite cinematography, with excellent colors and good camera work, an intelligent use of light and shadow, and magnificent and well-chosen sets. But it is in the soundtrack and in the use of children's voices that the film really acquires magic, especially for classical music lovers, as is my case. A note of praise also for the use of period props and costumes, which help the film to fit in well with the period portrayed.