Les Choristes

This is a formulaic film about a kind hearted teacher who, despite the interference of an evil director, engages a group of troubled boys and turns them into a topnotch choir in post-war France. I knew I was being manipulated but shed a few tears nonetheless. Could be described as a "heartwarming, feelgood film". Oh, go and see it anyhow.
"On 15 January 1949, the former music teacher Clement Mathieu arrives in 'Fond de l' Etang' ('Bottom of the Well'), a boarding school for orphans and problematic boys, to work as an inspector. The place is administrated with iron fist by the cruel director Rachin, and most of the boys have severe punishments for their faults. Clement decides to teach the boys to sing in a choir in their spare time, and identify the musical potential of the rebel Pierre Morhange , the son of a beautiful single mother for whom he feels a crush. He also has a special feeling for the young Pepinot , a boy that expects the visit of his father every Saturday near the gate, but indeed lost his parents in the war. With his methods, Clement changes the lives of the boys, of the other employees and his own."