An unlikely but charming transition of bad boys into angelic choir

Rating: 7/10 (20 September 2009)

Les Choristes is a triumph of wish-fulfilment, and director/writer Christophe Barratier wastes little time on the process that should be at the heart of the film: how to turn a class of very difficult boys into a trained choir with no support at all from the principal's office. It's a heart-warming, feel-good yarn with great performances from everyone, but anyone with experience in education is going to have to suspend their disbelief from the ceiling, as newbie teacher M. Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot) effortlessly transitions from getting the tykes to chirp out snippets of naughty ditties to faultlessly harmonising Rameau before the school governors. Somewhere in the middle there, about half an hour of exposition is missing, in which Mathieu has to chuck out recalcitrant brats, knock heads together, and dish out lines. However, as I say, this is wish-fulfilment; we're in an imaginary past that should not be mistaken for today's reality. As fairy-tales go, this is wonderfully put together, and was a sure-fire box-office hit in France, where French womanhood could not fail to fall for all the lads and sing along with their divine music. Everybody wants to believe this kind of educational miracle is possible, and I am not going to disillusion them on this board. Seven for pure escapism.