August 19 — The Chorus/Les Choristes (France, 2004)
Set in 1940s rural France at a school for orphaned and delinquent boys, a dedicated teacher founds a small choir, allowing the young men to rise above their cruel headmaster and dream of a better life.
When: Tuesday, August 19, 7:00 PM
Where: Arthur M. Glick Jewish Community Center, Laikin Auditorium 6701 Hoover Rd. Indianapolis, IN 46260
Part of the “European Grab-Bag” film series Sponsored by the JCC & Indiana Film Society. Free & open to the public.
Here’s a summary of the plot of the film, which in 2004 was nominated for Oscars in Best Foreign Film and Best Song:
Following the death of their old music teacher, two middle-aged men, the renowned French conductor Pierre Morhange (Jacques Perrin) and an old friend, Pépinot (Didier Flamand), reminisce about their days at a boarding school for boys.
In 1949, the unemployed music teacher Clément Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot) arrives at the school to work as a teacher-cum-supervisor. The boys are a bunch of difficult, quasi-murderous brats who, according to the strict disciplinarian headmaster Rachin (François Berléand), will only learn to behave themselves if they are either beaten with a stick or put in solitary confinement—or both. Mathieu, however, thinks otherwise. Although he has been warned that these boys are monsters disguised as human beings, he takes a liking to them, especially to the gifted and angelic-looking Pierre (Jean-Baptiste Maunier) and to the young orphan Pépinot (Maxence Perrin), who every weekend waits in vain at the gate for a visit from his parents.
Clément decides to teach the boys to sing, and becomes mesmerized by Pierre’s heavenly voice. The boys, for their part, learn to trust and respect their teacher. However, problems arise when the headmaster begins feeling threatened by Clément’s success, especially when a particularly troublesome youth arrives at the school.
If you think this sounds interesting, be sure to check out …
A home grown example of creativity by kids who might not seem to have much chance of success in the world … Campecine, the Latino Youth Filmfest on September 26 and 27.
