"You'll be singing the praises of this charming little French movie." Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone THEMOVIECHICKS.COM "An enchantingly beautiful and moving film." Claudia Puig USA TODAY "A good, sweet film with a great script, terrific directing, wonderful acting and an uplifting moral. I say, don’t miss it." Tony Medley TONYMEDLEY.COM "Unashamedly plays on your every emotion but who cares. This is simply a beautiful little story and a film that most people will thoroughly enjoy seeing. A well constructed film "The Chorus" is a joy to watch." Richard Surfield THE MOVIE PAGES

"Well acted by the kids and adults alike, and directed convincingly but without a trace of artistry by Christophe Barratier, it is cuddly, sentimental and harmless." Rex Reed NEW YORK OBSERVER "Les choristes isn't great cinema, but it is certainly a crowd-pleaser." Kevin N Laforest MONTREAL FILM JOURNAL "I expected a very [standard] feel-good movie, but instead became immersed in something altogether more satisfying, rich in detail and thought-provoking." Boyd Van Hoeij BIBLOI.COM "The language of music needs no translation, and in Les Choristes, an uplifting film about unsung heroes, a failed music teacher uses singing to reach his unruly students." Urban Cinefile Critics URBAN CINEFILE

The Inside Story

"The story plays out more or less as you want it to and it is an enjoyable and touching experience that shows the redemptive power of music." Kirsten Heysen THE SUNDAY MAIL

There's no doubt that after seeing "Les Choristes" ["The Chorus"] many will make comparisons between it's content and that of films such as "Mr Hollands Optus", "Dead Poet's Society", "The Emperor's Club" and more recently "Monsieur Ibrahim". While the situation of the young boys in "Les Choristes" appears hopeless at the hand of Fond De Le' Tang's oppressively brutal Director, Monsieur Rachin, the theme in which a benevolent, well meaning adult male, in the form of a teacher who takes the boys and moulds their lives is, [like those previously mentioned] one that will yet again inspires audiences and leave those who see it, happily awash with emotion. This transformation comes through music and the glorious, hauntingly beautiful songs that feature in the film. Music has played a big part of the films director Christophe Barratierlife. A classical guitarist Barratier is a graduate of the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris who has successfully competed in and won a number of international guitar competitions. "Les Choristes" is Barratier's first feature film and it has met with huge critical acclaim as well as being nominated in the 2005 Academy Awards in the category for Foreign Language Films. So why a remake? "I really wanted to do a story that had to do with music," Barratier said. "So naturally, the combination of music and childhood led me to "La Cage aux rossignols"." And the childhood connection? "I saw that film ["La Cage aux rossignols"] when I was about seven or eight, in 1970 or 1971, on one of the two only TV stations," he recalls. "As a child, I was deeply moved. The film is now almost forgotten but its charm subsists. And it hasn’t been sanctified as a “masterpiece” of French cinema either, which made less dangerous to adapt. Two of the most vivid memories which stayed with me were the emotion produced by the children’s voices and the character of the failed musician who tries, in spite of everything, to transform the world of the people around him." Barratier says when it came to rescripting the film he stuck with the original time frame because it would have meant massive changes to the location of the story. Was there ever any temptation then to move it forward in time? "Never" he says emphatically. "For a very simple reason. Making a story about a man who teaches singing to children today would mean first of all addressing who those children are. You’d have to get into issues like housing projects, chronic unemployment, assimilation, juvenile delinquency, and that wasn’t what I wanted to do. There’s also the status of the main character. Clément Mathieu, as a teacher today, would have other priorities. He would be nothing like the music teacher of the fifties." By keeping the film in its original setting of 1949, were there any historical truths that applied? "Indeed, reintegration centres, commonly called “correctional houses” were set up right after the war", Barratier says. "The Youth Protection Service [Protection Judiciare de la Jeunesse] was created during the same period, giving children a different legal status than adults. It was the very beginning of a sort of official child psychology, with all the wanderings goes with it. It was also the start of psychological profiling, in what was a well-intentioned desire to 'oversee' them. These methods hinted at in the film seem of course, very problematic to us today. The late forties, finally, was a period of trauma. We were just coming out of the war and, as in all periods of crisis, parents had other things to deal with than bringing up their children." One delightful aspect of the film is the beautiful music and those songs the boys sing. How long did it take you and Coulais to complete these compositions? Bruno Coulais and I started working in September 2002, nine months before the shoot. I wanted to avoid the “children’s chorus” feel with your typical Christmas carols and fireplace songs. The music had to be really strong, almost completely original and not from an existing repertory. The music we hear in the story is that of Clément Mathieu, so we varied the genres and the musical climates according to the character’s evolution. Making this film was often like making a musical." On screen, the catalyst for creating the chior is Clément Mathieu played by Gérard Jugnot, a long time friend of Barratier. What was it that lead the films co-producer to take the lead part in "Les Choristes"? "What I like about this movie is that it doesn’t seem like a "first time director’s" work. Also the musical aspect is surprising, really great. The music brings a true dynamic to the story, especially with the children singing. You can feel Christophe has as much passion for film as he does for music. In fact, he composed two of the pieces sung in the film, along with Bruno Coulais." And in his opinion does the film have the ambience hoped for? "The result", he says, "is a film without sappiness, with all the earmarks of great emotion and evocative powers. It has the charm of writing on a blackboard, the charm of those musty childhoods we all had." And you say that you took a lot away from the film? "The film begins in clouds and ends in the sunshine. I don’t know if it’s because I often feel like an aging child, but this shoot with all those kids, that nostalgia for childhood, all those emotions have something in common with a fantastic time at a summer camp." The Beautiful Songs

Nous sommes de Fond-de-l’Etang [Lyrics: Christophe Barratier/Philippe Lopes-Curval - Music: Christophe Barratier] Vois sur ton chemin [Lyrics : Christophe Barratier - Music : Bruno Coulais] Caresse sur l’océan [Lyrics: Christophe Barratier/Bruno Coulais - Music: Bruno Coulais] Lueur d’été [Lyrics: Christophe Barratier/Bruno Coulais - Music: Bruno Coulais] Kyrie [Bruno Coulais] Cerf-volant [Lyrics: Christophe Barratier - Music: Christophe Barratier/Bruno Coulais] La Nuit [J P Rameau]

Crew Bytes "THE CHORUS" was .......
directed by Christophe Barratier ["Children of Lumiere [Les Enfants de Lumière]", "Microcosmos", "Himalaya" and "Winged Migration"]; screenplay by Christophe Barratier ["Les Tombales"] and Philippe Lopes-Curval ["Wonderful Times", "Blue Helmet", "Fallait pas!" and "Monsieur Batignole"]; production design by François Chauvaud ["The Man on the Bench" and "Without Family"]; edited by Yves Deschamps ["The Ideal Man", "My Little Business", "The Warrior's Brother" and "As Life Goes By"]; cinematograhpy by Dominique Gentil ["Faces of Women", "The Blue Eyes of Yonta", "The Travelling Birds" and "Skydance"] and Carlo Varini ["The Final Combat", "A Woman or Two", "Women Have Only One Thing on Their Minds" and "This Is My Body"]; original music by Bruno Coulais ["The Libertine", "One Way Ticket", "The Travelling Birds" and "Hothouse"]; produced by Arthur Cohn ["The Sky Above, The Mud Below", "A Place for Lovers", "White Lies" and "One Day in September"], Nicolas Mauvernay ["11'09''01 - September 11" and "Prozac tango"] and Jacques Perrin ["The Children of Lumiere", "Himalaya", "The Travelling Birds" and "11'09''01 - September 11"]. Casting About "THE CHORUS" stars .......
Gérard Jugnot ["Docteur Apfelgluck", "The Imposters ", "The Race" and "Monsieur Batignole"]; Kad Mérad ["Jeu de vilain", "The High Life", "Bloody Christmas" and "The Daltons"]; Marie Bunel ["The Blood Of Others", "The Marriage Boat", "My Life In Pink" and "Seventeen Times"]; Jean-Paul Bonnaire ["Our Happy Lives", "All About Love", "Women or Children First" and "Nickel and Dime"]; Jacques Perrin ["Kim Novak Is on the Phone", "Watch and Ward", "Brotherhood of the Wolf" and "Above the Clouds"]; Philippe Du Janerand ["The Widow of Saint-Pierre", "Officer's Ward", "The Landlords" and "The Blue Island"]; Carole Weiss ["Les Tombales" and "Gamma Project"]; Maxence Perrin ["For intérieur"]; Didier Flamand ["The Crimson Rivers", "The Three Kings", "Dr Rey!" and "Red Sunset"] and François Berléand ["The Prince of the Pacific", "The Adversary", "The Transporter" and "Model Employee "] as Director Rachin. What It's All About

"First time director and co-scripter Christophe Barratier has crafted an inspiring, rewarding, involving, heart warming and enriching little story of finding lost souls, minds and voices." ... Stan James ADELAIDE ADVERTISER

By the time Clément Mathieu arrives at Fond De Le' Tang, he has put behind him his ambitions to become a composer and resigned himself to life as a teacher. His new position carries the title of Superintendent and while it may be a position of authority the mixture of orphans and problem children makes for a real challenge. Mathieu isn't impressed by either the boys lack of respect or the cruel punishment metered out by Director Rachin. In an effort to instill discipline without resorting to violence Mathieu forms the class into a chior. As the boys improve, their self esteem returns. Mathieu slowly but surely gains their respect. But Director Rachin is not totally convinced. Rachin doesn't believe in Mathieu's approach to the boys. His motto of "Action! Reaction!" looms over everyone at Fond De Le' Tang. Elated with his success, Mathieu throws caution and fear to the wind giving his heart and soul to Fond De Le' Tang's chior. The Verdict "Unashamedly a real feel good, tear jerker that milks every emotion, but gee, isn't it good to be able to sit through such an entertaining film and realize that in a world full of stress, woes and worries, thanks to "The Chorus" we can give our somewhat suppressed feelings a good run. A thoroughly enjoyable foreign language film that those who take in are going to get a lot of joy out of. Recommended? You bet it is!" The Cast

Gérard Jugnot François Berléand Jean-Baptiste Maunier Jacques Perrin Kad Merad Marie Bunel Philippe Du Janerand Jean-Paul Bonnaire Maxence Perrin Didier Flamand Grégory Gatignol Cyril Bernicot Carole Weiss Paul Chariéras Thomas Blumenthal Simon Fargeot Théodul Carré-Cassaigne Erick Desmarestz Fabrice Dubusset Monique Ditisheim Steve Gadler Armen Godel

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Clément Mathieu Rachin Young Pierre Morhange Pierre Morhange Chabert Violette Morhange Langlois Maxence Young Pépinot Pépinot Mondain Le Querrec La comtesse Régent Corbin Boniface Leclerc Docteur Dervaux Carpentier La mère Marie Assistant Morhange Le médecin

The Crew Directed by Christophe Barratier Screenplay by Christophe Barratier Produced by Arthur Cohn/Nicolas Mauvernay/Jacques Perrin Original Music by Christophe Barratier & Bruno Coulais Non-Original Music from "La Nuit" by Jean-Philippe Rameau Cinematography by Dominique Gentil A.F.C & Carlo Varini A.F.C Film Editing by Yves Deschamps Casting by Sylvie Brocheré & Agathe Hassenforder Production Design by François Chauvaud Run Time 95 minutes Rated M15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - Miramax Films - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved