No substance, but quite delightful

Rating: 7/10 (20 November 2004)

A new supervisor at a strict boys boarding school for difficult children gets remarkable love and respect by teaching them music and getting the boys to form a choir. Sugary, unbelievable, but the script is deft enough to keep us interested all the way through. Touches of 'Amelie', the French are learning how to make American style confectionery-cinema. This is box-office fodder - nothing wrong with that - just that we have always expected something more of French cinema. But commercial hits can also pave the way for art by providing the necessary cash flow, and we can only hope that French cinema will not entirely disown its great cultural heritage. Meanwhile, this is entertaining in a minor scale. No substance, but quite delightful (and wonderful singing!).