In a repressive boarding school for troubled boys a teacher defies the principal and starts a choir.

As is typical of the 'teacher who changes lives' genre, we follow Clement Mathieu (the teacher) and one of his pupils, Pierre, as their involvement in the choir allows them to reach their potential. Pierre, a handful, sent to the school by his single mother, is adult at the beginning of the film when we learn of his current life. We then flash back to his school days at Fond de l'Etang (the bottom of the pond) boarding school.

All of the singing is done by Les Petits Chanteurs de Saint-Marc, which makes for an excellent soundtrack, but diminishes the realism of the film (they can sing too well after only a few secret lessons). Nominated for the best foreign film Oscar, this film is not the worst of the genre, and if you liked 'Mr. Holland's Opus' or 'Coach Carter' you'll probably like this one.