FILM · 2004 · FRANCE

Les choristes

10 archived facts · 4 topics · 1 source · Last reviewed Oct 2026

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All facts (10)

1. #001

   Actor and co-producer Gérard Jugnot mortgaged his Paris apartment to help finance the film. The gamble paid off, and he ultimately earned more than 5 million Euros for Les Choristes as actor and co-producer. In 2004 he became the highest-earning French actor, ahead of Jean Reno and Gérard Depardieu.

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2. #002

   The producers chose to cast a real boys' choir soloist for the role of Pierre Morhange (Jean-Baptiste Maunier). Jean-Baptiste was the soloist of the Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc choir, which also performed the songs in the film.

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3. #003

   The film was shot in the middle of summer, and since the scenes were meant to take place in winter (in January), it was hard for the actors to wear winter clothing.

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4. #004

   In 2004 the film was number one at the French box office, with more than 8.6 million admissions.

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5. #005

   It was inspired by the 1945 film La Cage aux rossignols (The Cage of Nightingales).

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6. #006

   After The Chorus (2004), Jean-Baptiste Maunier changed musical genres so as not to be seen as an angel face any longer.

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7. #007

   Shortly after the film, Jean-Baptiste Maunier left Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc because he had a problem with choirmaster Nicholas Porte repeatedly bringing up the line "no one is irreplaceable" from the film that made him famous. He kept singing, however, proving in a sense that the choirmaster too had been replaced.

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8. #008

   (34 minutes) At the choir auditions, Boniface sings "Maréchal, nous voilà!" (Marshall, here we are!) very loudly, and Matthieu says it is "old fashioned." It had been dedicated to Marshall Pétain in 1941. The music was stolen from the Jewish composer Oberfeld, who was killed at Auschwitz. The song was used heavily at public and sporting events during Vichy France under Marshall Pétain, Nazi Germany's puppet government. Matthieu tried to tell Boniface, in a gentle way, that he should no longer sing that song.

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9. #009

   France's official submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2005 Oscars.

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10. #010

    Mathieu's diary gives the following dates: 15 January – Mathieu arrives at the school on 23 January – Maxence 30 January – the choir auditions are held 8 February – rehearsals begin on 15 February – the new student Mondain arrives on 3 March – Morhange begins singing with the choir 13 May – Mondain is sent back to the school by the police.

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