Formulaic, but at least it's in French!

Rating: 8/10 (26 February 2005)

Les Choristes, (2004) Directed by Christophe Barratier, follows a set formula:
A new teacher arrives at a school for delinquent and orphaned children, and tries to soften their lives by creating a chorus. The headmaster is cruel, the old gardener is kindly, and the boys range from gentle and decent to hard and violent. However, all of the boys respond to music, and their lives are changed because of the efforts of the new teacher. The acting is good, and the effort is sincere.
I live in Upstate New York--we don't see many French-language films here, so we enjoy the ones we see.