THE CHORUS
(LES CHORISTES)

Saturday, October 15 – Renoir Theatre – 11:00 am
(Screening ends at 12:45 pm)

FICTION / DRAMA, MUSICAL
CLASSIC SERIES

Presented in Association with:
France televisions
Miramax
Paramount
Pathé Films

Homage to Jacques Perrin | France | 2004 | Drama | 97 min – 35mm print | In French with English subtitles

Directed by: Christophe Barratier
Written by: Christophe Barratier, Philippe Lopes-Curval
Produced by: Jacques Perrin & Nicolas Mauvernay (Galatée Films), Gérard Jugnot (Novo Arturo Films), Claude Berri (Renn Productions), Jérôme Seydoux (Pathé Films)
Cinematography: Dominique Gentil, Carlo Varini
Film Editing: Yves Deschamps
Original Score: Bruno Coulais
Cast: Gérard Jugnot (Clément Mathieu), François Berléand (Rachin), Jacques Perrin (Pierre Mohrange, adult), Jean-Baptiste Maunier (Pierre Mohrange, child), Kad Merad (Chabert), Marie Bunel (Violette Mohrange)
International Sales: Pathé Films

Co-writer/director Christophe Barratier‘s The Chorus tells an uplifting tale of art as redemption. Much in the tradition of classic films like Goodbye, Mr. Chips, The Prime of Miss Jean Brody or Dead Poet’s Society, the film immerses us in the rarefied world of a boarding school. This time the school is an almost prison-like institution for wayward, extremely rambunctious boys in 1948. Enter Clément Mathieu, an unemployed music teacher who’s been hired to perform the thankless job of monitor by the school’s strict, exceedingly cruel, headmaster. However, Mathieu has other ideas, and decides to replace his employer’s negative-reinforcement principle with a more positive approach. He teaches the boys to sing, forms a chorus, and proceeds to transform their lives, one day at a time. Chock-a-block with some exquisite singing, the film was nominated for two Academy Awards, for Best Foreign Film and Best Original Song, as well as two BAFTAs. It won two César Awards, for Best Original Music and Best Sound. The National Board of Review in the U.S. listed it among the Best Foreign Films of 2004, and the film garnered a slew of awards at festivals worldwide.

The son of Alexandre Simonet, manager of the Comédie-Française, and actress Marie Perrin, Jacques Perrin was clearly born to be in show business. He studied acting at the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique and landed his first role in Marcel Carné’s Gates of the Night (1946). Appearing in some 135 films, Perrin cultivated ongoing relationships with several directors, with whom he worked repeatedly. With Italian director Valerio Zurlini, he played the romantic lead opposite Claudia Cardinale in The Girl with a Suitcase (1960), and Marcello Mastroianni’s brother in Family