This documentary follows the lives of two inmates (Coleman Mgogodlo and Jabulani Shabangu) who live in a maximum security prison in South Africa. Singing is a rare lifeline for these men whose world is filled with rapists, murderers and thieves. We watch as Jabulani is lifted from this scary existence and comes under the watchful eye of choir master Coleman.
The initial few minutes of The Choir are a little difficult to grasp. Gritty re-enactment scenes and stylised direction make it hard to be sure you're actually watching a documentary. The sequences where the choir sing further this sense as they are very choreographed and have a grainy, guerrilla-MTV feeling. The men themselves also present some problems. Prior to us meeting him, Jabulani was clearly on the path to becoming a career criminal, and he keeps his cards very close to his chest. He constantly spouts easy words, rarely straying from what he knows people want to hear. It is only in the very last few scenes of the film that we see even real emotion from him. A disjointed structure further hinders proceedings. The power and emotion still peeks through though. These men are coming from a world that regularly kicks them in the teeth, yet they still manage to sing.
Technically, this is a weak cinema offering. The filmmakers have tried too hard to force a three-act structure on the events leading up to a choir competition. Luckily, as with those who make it out of this life, the subject matter refuses to be overwhelmed by external influences.
