Music is the secret of Mathieu Malinski, a subject he doesn’t dare to talk about in his suburb where he hangs out with his friends. When one of the petty thefts he commits with them leads him to the gates of prison, Pierre Geitner, the director of the National Conservatory of Music, gets him out in exchange for community service hours.
But Pierre has a completely different idea in mind… He has discovered in Mathieu a future great pianist, whom he enters into the national piano competition. Mathieu steps into a new world whose codes he ignores, attends classes with the strict “Countess,” and meets Anna, with whom he falls in love. To succeed in this competition, for which everyone is playing for their future, Mathieu, Pierre, and the Countess will have to learn to overcome their prejudices…
An honest coming-of-age film that depicts the musical rise of a suburban kid through a conventional story against social determinism.
A likeable work with decent direction that unfolds a narrative that does not avoid clichés and schmaltz despite convincing actors (Lambert Wilson, Jules Benchetrit, Kristin Scott Thomas). Honorable.
