Les Choristes Film Critique

Film Critique/ Analysis #6

Michael Atkinson

Cinema 28

A Heart-Warmer

In a beautiful tale of difficult children and one adult who finally understands them, Christophe Barratier, brings this idea to life in Les Choristes (2004). This delightful French drama set in 1949, tells the story of a new supervisor, Clément Mathieu, at a boys boarding school, Fond de l'Étang, who relates to the boys with humor and kindness in order to win them over, much more so than the brutal punishment the headmaster uses. Mathieu decides to teach the boys to sing and he eventually unites them through the use of song.

Les Choristes is a film aimed directly at your heart; it is supposed to make your heart ache and your eyes tear. However, there was a momentous amount of moments that made your blood run cold and sent a chill to your bones, but there wasn’t a time I found myself crying. There was a delightful mix of good humor amongst the angst in order to set the correct balance to the film and keep our emotions in check. 

The cinematography done by Jean-Jacques Bouhon, was stylistically done. The way the camera was held at absurd angles in shots with the boys but when the camera was on an adult, it was a pristine and clean cut to enunciate the difference between the characters. He shows their differences in even the slightest camerawork, but mostly stayed away from extreme close ups, choosing to shoot a wide shot or even a medium shot where needed. But this did not deter from the film, but more than likely, added to the feeling of being in the scene with the character. The audience could peruse the screen and really take in the depths of all the design work from the locations.

The only problem that seems to be with this film is that it is very safe. There were no enormous risks that were taken and the story is one that has been done countless times before. The characterization is the same and the audience knows exactly what to predict in the end. One can safely assume that these troubled boys turn a new leaf into kindness and compassion all because of Mathieu’s doings. They expose the monstrosity of the headmaster’s brutal punishments and make it known to the public. And above all, the boys learn how to sing. There was nothing quite unusual or any big plot twists that throw the audience for a loop. Instead, the film played the heart-warming card and stayed safely within the boundaries. 

Yet, in the end, the audience is left with a good feeling despite the fact that Mathieu does not get much of his own happy ending. One can not wonder if this comments on Hollywood films and how they always end happily. In a way, this film was trying to do that by leaving one in good spirits with a sense of hope for the characters as the credits rolled.