Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: a French musical success.
After having followed a classical musical training, Christophe Barratier joined the production company of his uncle Jacques Perrin, Galatée Films, where he learned the job of producer. In 2004, his first feature film as a director, Les Choristes, was a masterstroke.
Adapted from La Cage aux rossignols (1945) by Jean Dréville, the film combines themes that are dear to him through the story of Clément Mathieu, an unemployed music teacher who accepts a post as supervisor in a re-education boarding school for minors . Shocked by the repressive system applied by the director, Mathieu gradually manages to transform the children’s daily lives by introducing them to music and choral singing.
Christophe Barratier thus signs a little personal gem, full of tenderness and hope, which is essentially based on his excellent actors (Gérard Jugnot in the lead, as well as François Berléand, Kad Merad, Jean-Paul Bonnaire and a whole host of children spotted during wild castings, including the great vocal revelation Jean-Baptiste Maunier) and its music composed by Bruno Coulais, who is also awarded a César.
With 8.5 million admissions at the box office, Les Choristes is one of the biggest successes in the history of French cinema. A success that aroused a craze for choral singing, breathing new life into these musical formations which were then falling into disuse.
The film also enjoyed some popularity beyond our borders and was nominated for the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Song categories.
The Choristers of Christophe Barratier with Gérard Jugnot, François Berléand, Jacques Perrin…
Tonight on France 2 at 9:10 p.m.