DON'T MISS OUT: Free Screening of Les Choristes

 

Head down to Jefferson-Madison Central Library on Tuesday June 30th for a free screening of this academy award nominated French masterpiece! Originally released in 2004, Les Choristes is an inspiring story of the transformative power of music.


Set in 1949 at a boarding school for misbehaved boys, the film follows a young Pierre Morhange (played by Jean-Baptiste Maunier) and his friend Pépinot (Maxence Perrin). Though they are at first subjected to the cruel discipline of their headmaster, Monsieur Rachin (François Berléand), the arrival of a new school teacher, Clément Mathieu (Gérard Jugnot), brightens up the gloomy atmosphere of the school. One day after hearing students singing rude songs about the teachers, Mathieu decides to assemble a choir and teach the students to sing. In the process, Mathieu discovers the remarkable talent of Pierre, helping to transform the troubled child's future.


 

La Cage aux Rossignols (1945) helped inspire the film.

Director Christophe Barratier, whose first feature film was Les Choristes, recounts that the inspiration for the film came in large part from his own childhood, especially between the ages of 4 and 8. He was also greatly inspired by a 1945 French film entitled La Cage aux Rossignols (a cage of nightingales), which also features a choir director who helps troubled teens by teaching them to sing. Barratier said he was "deeply touched" by the film when he saw it as a child, and he even decided to keep the name of the choir director the same from the original. In fact, both movies are inspired by a real educational center called Ker Goat, in which a team of teachers worked to help troubled children through choral singing and other innovative educational methods.

The film includes an incredible soundtrack, featuring the real voice of Jean-Baptiste Maunier, who plays the Morhange in the movie! At the 2005 academy awards, Les Choristes was not only nominated for Best Foreign Language Film but also Best Original Song, Vois sur ton chemin ("Look to Your Path"), which you can enjoy below:

The screening will begin at 6:00pm, and soft drinks and popcorn will be provided. Additionally, AFC member and volunteer Eric Flanagan will introduce the film and host a short discussion on the film afterwards (library doors close at 9pm).

Venez nombreux! Don't miss out on this fun evening!

Be sure to click here to RSVP.