Les Choristes is a warm and melodious tribute to the power of music. Most of the pupils at the austere Fond de l' Etang (which translates as "bottom of the pond") boarding school are bullies and pranksters or orphans who have recently lost their families to World War II. These rebellious youngsters endure day after day under the thumb of Headmast Rachin, who terrifies his students and resolves issues by banishing boys into solitary confinement.

Into this decidely unhappy environment comes Clément Mathieu, a beautiful dreamer trapped in the form of a frumpy, middle-aged music teacher. Hired as a mere assistant, the big-hearted Clément quickly recognizes the pupils' desperation for real encouragement and respect. When he discovers that several of the boys are gifted singers, Clément skirts around Rachin's policies and arranges the students into a choir. While incurring the wrath of his superior, the teacher gamely suffers the boys' pranks, nutures their talents and eventually wins their trust through the music they create together.

Fairy Tale-like and unabashedly emotional, Les Choristes speaks to music lovers and cinephiles alike; it unfolds like a walk down cinema's own memory lane and carries us away to the soaring heights of its exquisite harmonies.
- adapted from the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival program notes.