Image copyright © by Marcus Trahan

The Chorus

(Les Choristes, France, 2004)

I guess I agreed with the vast majority of critics on this one, who gave it a relentlessly average 50% on whatever meters they use. You can’t dislike it because it does its job well. It’s just that the job is so routine and totally expected, without an ounce of originality. You’ve seen it a hundred times before. But how can you really dislike a story about a teacher who cares about his students, and makes a difference? Teachers are the unsung heroes of our society, and every once in a while we should be reminded of it. I’d rather see a routine movie like this than a routine movie about an underdog sports team that ends up winning big. How many of those have you seen?