Critic Rating
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Director
Christophe Barratier
Cast
Gérard Jugnot,
François Berléand,
Kad Merad,
Jean-Paul Bonnaire,
Marie Bunel,
Jean-Baptiste Maunier
Genre
Drama
In postwar France, Clément Mathieu, an unemployed music teacher, finds a job at a correctional boarding school for disruptive boys. When the harsh disciplinary policies of the school's director prove ineffectual, Clément sets out to change the pupils' lives by acquainting them with the magic of music.
Although not super original or thrilling, The Chorus nonetheless depicts a sentimental story of music, friendship, and growth. A simple yet soft film that gently tugs at your heartstrings, the film is for those who'd simply like to enjoy a sweet story with some pleasant music.
USA Today by Claudia Puig
An enchantingly beautiful and moving film.
Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas
A runaway hit in France last year and the country's official Oscar entry, is a well-nigh irresistible film celebrating the redemptive power of music.
Christian Science Monitor by David Sterritt
Extremely goodhearted, if not exactly original or exciting.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer by William Arnold
A movie you've seen many times before, but the setting is different, its characters are well drawn and it delivers its uplifting message with succinctness, sincerity and skill.
Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington
Like all good popular entertainments, the best of it sings.
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Heartfelt, but not to the degree that it becomes cloying.
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen
This is a formula film with panache.
The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck
An appealing lead performance from its leading man and a wonderfully sentimental, if overly familiar, story line are the chief virtues of this French drama, a huge success in its native country.
Washington Post by Desson Thomson
Larded over with le fromage, which is to say, French cheese. But as these dairy products go, Christophe Barratier's movie is delectable sentiment. Audiences will crumble into itty-bitty pieces of Roquefort watching this.
Chicago Reader by Ronnie Scheib
The excellent cast in Christophe Barratier's loose remake of a 1945 Jean Dreville film ensures that the predictable, nostalgic ride remains enjoyable throughout.
The New York Times by Manohla Dargis
A deeply conventional story about truculent or orphaned boys and the gentle soul who finds himself by shaping the tots into a chorus.
L.A. Weekly by Scott Foundas
The Chorus is sham art and questionable entertainment, but at the very least it sends you whistling out of the theater.
The A.V. Club by Nathan Rabin
The Chorus plucks desperately at the heartstrings, but fails to breathe new life into a tired old tune.
Variety by Lisa Nesselson
No stereotype is left unheralded and no heartstring left untugged in this freely adapted remake of Jean Dreville's mostly forgotten "La cage aux rossignols"
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
The movie is rotten the way that only a denatured made-for-export slice of Gallic nostalgia can be.
Village Voice
The cinematic equivalent of filtered water, The Chorus is all smooth, nutrient-free clichés. This shamelessly globalized French Oscar submission even opens with a shot of an American flag--perhaps an unconscious declaration of defeat for importable Gallic cinema.
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