Boychoir (2014)

After his single mother dies, a young boy with an excellent voice is sent to a prestigious choir school and has trouble adapting to the culture of the school.

Director:

François Girard

Writer:

Ben Ripley

Stars:

Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Eddie Izzard

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dustin Hoffman	...	Carvelle
Kathy Bates	...	Headmistress
Eddie Izzard	...	Drake
Kevin McHale	...	Wooly
Josh Lucas	...	Gerard
Debra Winger	...	Ms. Steel
Garrett Wareing	...	Stet
Joe West	...	Devon
River Alexander	...	Raffi
Sam Poon	...	Frederick
Dante Soriano	...	Fernando
Erica Piccininni	...	Debbie
Grant Venable	...	Andre
Janine DiVita	...	Sally
Tijuana Ricks	...	Mrs. Kempner

Storyline

Stet, a troubled and angry 11-year-old orphan from a small Texas town, ends up at a boychoir school back East after his single mom's death. Completely out of his element, he lands in a battle of wits with a demanding choirmaster who recognizes the young boy's unique talent as he pushes him to discover his creative heart and soul in music.

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Plot Keywords:

choir | boy | music school | boarding school | boys' choir | 

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Taglines:

Find your voice. Dare to dream.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Did You Know?

Trivia

A planned Spring 2016 broadcast of the film on CBS was cancelled at the last minute after a backlash from real-life former choirboys who were sexually abused at a private school similar to the one depicted in the movie.

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Goofs

Most of the music in this film is altered from its original versions, in some cases ending up dramatically different. Handel's Coronation Anthem, "Zadok the Priest", for example, is sung for about sixteen bars, when the audience suddenly applauds, some four or five minutes before the authentic piece would have been finished. Very few of these modifications were noted in the credits as "arranged by . . ." Speaking of poor Handel, his name is listed in the credits several times (the film score uses several of his works) as "Georges Friedrich Handel". Why would the French spelling of "George" be used? Handel was German, writing most of his music in England and Ireland. (Even the French-language Wikipedia page lists him as George, with the German alternative of Georg also noted.) And the reference to his "Alleluia" from Messiah borders on criminal. Everyone knows - or certainly should know in a production like this that strives to appear "classical" - that the piece was titled "Hallelujah" in every creditable published edition.

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Quotes

Kid: [goading Stet] I saw your mother out with that skinhead... I thought your mom only dated Mexicans
[stet walks away, then returns carrying a bin which he throws at said kid]

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Connections

Features It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

User Reviews

Hear My (International / Universal) Song

November 20, 2016…My Post date for this Review: Currently, "SONG" has less than 4,000 IMDb votes and only 25 posted Reviews! Considering its outstanding International cast, its rich and superb music and vocals, the universality of its heartwarming message and its 2014 release date, it's doubtful you will find such paltry stats for any other movie with such impressive characteristics. After my viewing last night, I would have guessed an IMDb rating of 7.3 or 7.4, but it stands at only 6.7!

Had NEVER heard any mention, anywhere, neither of its present, re-worked title, or of "BOYCHOIR", the original release title. My motivation for adding it to my collection was, indeed, a very personal one. My wife has formed part of our local church choir for the past 2 years and it was obvious that the subject would interest her. Although certainly not a Classic, we both enjoyed it immensely. My rating: 8*s and my wife's is 9! SONG has definite elements that would appeal, most certainly, to large numbers of specific groups, each of which will be pointed out as we move forward.

11 year old lead character, Stet, is a survivor. His existence is pretty much rudderless, as he is being raised solely by his alcoholic Mom, who is a poster child for the antithesis of helicopter parenting! Less than 10 minutes into "SONG" Stet's world implodes. (Considering it happens so close to the very beginning, it can't possibly be considered a SPOILER, right?) Well, in one take, in seconds we can grasp that Stet has been orphaned as a result of an apparent DUI crash where his Mom's car is totaled and the ill-fated lifeless and mangled remains of Mom are hanging upside down in the twisted wreckage. All of this, somewhat in the distance, so as to not really be in-your-face!

Stet's dad is one of those "legally responsible" types, who always makes his monthly child support payments on time, but who eschews any and all contact with his "biological" son. Evidently, contacting him is something the school does as a no other option obligation. Well, enough of spoon feeding you plot details. The rest of my review is going to be done in broad strokes!

More often than not, this genre tends to be over the top, leaning hard on viewers to milk every poignant moment to the very fullest. SONG most definitely avoided this common pitfall. As events unfold, the film takes care to let each and every arising development pretty much speak for itself. This, for me, is one of SONG's most admirable aspects. Unfortunately, there are, I think, some audience segments who are really addicted to this type of on screen presentation and just might have been rather disappointed by the lack of it here.

SONG should appeal to most of you who enjoy Classical music and/or traditional choral activity. For People looking for educationally themed family movies, I'm certain you will find SONG to be a truly shining example. There are few films that provide a better example of just how transformational passion for an activity can be in a young person's life!

8*....ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

Any comments, questions or observations, in English o en Español, are most welcome!....

Details

Official Sites:

Vidio [Indonesia]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 2015 (Singapore)

Also Known As:

Hear My Song

Filming Locations:

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,135,892

Company Credits

Production Co:

Informant Films, Informant Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1