Christophe Barratier is a French filmmaker who directed and produced 2004's acclaimed "Les Choristes" (US title "The Chorus"). His most recent work is "Faubourg 36" (US title "Paris 36"), which was reviewed in The Daily Californian on April 2. The Daily Californian sat down with Barratier to discuss his work. The following is an abbreviation of that interview. For the complete interview transcript, visit www.dailycal.org.

Daily Californian: As with … "Les Choristes," music plays a central role in "Paris 36." What is it about the magic of music and theater that inspired you to make this film?

Christophe Barratier: I used to be a musician when I was a kid. Music is really a very important of my life. I was a professional musician until I was 22 or 23 years old. ... And after I decided to make my big turn to the movie industry, it was not by coincidence. It was because my parents (and) my grandparents were in the theater and the movies. … So when I decided to be a director, I knew that I wanted to write some stories (based on) music. … In ("Paris 36") the music is not just music. It plays like a character and it is something very important in the plot. …

DC: The election of the Popular Front (in Europe) seems to be a time in history that has been largely neglected by filmmakers, at least on the international scale. Sure, we have many films about the War, but what was it that drew you to this historical context?

CB: First of all, it is true that we have done some 3,000 movies about the war and the German occupation, but nothing really before. The '30s were really forgotten by French cinema. I think it was a very interesting historical background. … Of course, the audience doesn't have to go to any history course to understand it in the movie because it is very simple: In 1936, we were, like the world, living in a period of crisis. The French were very depressed, and suddenly a prime minister, Leon Blum, was elected (and) made some revolutionary reforms in favor of the working class … If anything, it was a wonderful wave of fresh air, of hope, and I think that this is really similar to what we see today. We are living in a period of crisis, and when I saw the images of the election of Barack Obama, it was similar to how it was in the '30s for the French. …

DC: ... Did you have current events in mind when making the movie?

CB: No, it was unexpected. Because when I was writing the script in 2005, Barack Obama was totally unknown in France and we were not really talking about any (specific) crisis. Just by coincidence.

DC: The plot of "Paris 36" is pretty complex-there are a lot of subplots and the cast is a very ensemble cast. … How did you go about writing a screenplay with all of these different stories together?

CB: It was difficult because I began the script with all the characters … Some of them know each other and some don't. And so the idea was to have for each character, one different objective. Pigoil tried to save his family. Milou wanted to make the revolution. Jacky Jacquet wanted to be an imitator on stage. Douce is a young girl who wants to succeed in Paris. Galapiat is the bad guy. He is somebody who tries to racket the whole neighborhood, to be the chief. But what was the most difficult was to make it so that in the last hour, the audience could feel that (the characters) were sharing the same objective: to make a show, to restore their way of life and to make a living …

DC: The ending of "Paris 36" is interesting to me because it doesn't seem to be your typical happy, musical-movie ending. Everything turns out happy in the end, but it seems much harder to get there, it seems much more real.

CB: I think in general, I like what we call a "bittersweet end". In this case it would have been impossible to imagine a happy end because it would have been a lie … You cannot name this a happy ending when so many people have died. … But on the other end I didn't want to end like a Shakespeare tragedy. That would have been so unthinkable for me …

DC: You get to live the dream of a lot of filmmakers-you get to write your movies and then direct them. What is it like to have the ability and the power to do that?

CB: Well, it was sort of a coincidence ... I was studying music and then I made a short movie that was a hit in France, and "Les Choristes" has been a hit worldwide, so people realized that I was a bit talented, and so I had the right to maybe star again ...

DC: Are there any upcoming projects?

CB: I am writing two projects and some propositions. But for the moment I prefer to handle the promotion of "Paris 36" through the end of this month, and be able to relax a bit. But we will shoot something with in the next 10 months. I don't know which project it will be, but it will be decided at the end of spring.

Tags: PARIS 36, CHRISTOPHE BARATIER