The Chorus

American critics have largely lambasted this huge French hit, criticizing it for being too similar to other uplifting school-based movies. Surely enough, it comes across as a mix between Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) and Dead Poet's Society (1989), albeit with younger students, but two things set it apart from those films. First, the many threads of the plot are treated more neatly, never allowing one narrative strand, or actor's performance, to overpower any of the others. Secondly, the choral music, actually performed by a handpicked boys choir, is unequivocally beautiful and emotionally stirring.

With those unique elements, the actual story trajectories are pretty predictable, and there's no tension or action of any sort. Depending on one's mood, some of the more sentimental scenes may come across as too sugary. However, the core of the film, a warmhearted faculty member encouraging a group of students to channel their restless energies into singing beautiful music, is captivating, and anyone with a passing interest in music will find something very pleasing in that.