Story
Mrs Carey’s Concert is a documentary about Mrs Carey, a music director at a Sydney girls school. The movie records how Mrs Carey and her staff prepare their students for a concert at the Sydney Opera House.
Mrs Carey sets dauntingly high standards for performance and commitment. The pressure is on students to push themselves to their capacity, but not all students share Mrs Carey’s passion for music and the event. Many students rebel and play up at rehearsals. This is a challenge for the teaching team. But for some students the process turns out to be a life-changing event.
Themes
Dealing with the past death of a family member; truancy; stress and anxiety
Violence
This movie has some violence. For example, a teacher slaps a student in a good-natured way.
Sexual references
This movie has some sexual references. For example, characters talk about girls ‘hanging out’ with boys and going away with them for the weekend.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
This movie has some references to substance use. For example:
- Violin student Emily talks to a teacher about how other students have accused Emily of selling drugs.
- One of the teachers jokes that she should give a scotch to a student to help her calm down.
Nudity and sexual activity
Nothing of concern
Product placement
Nothing of concern
Coarse language
This movie has some mild and infrequent coarse language.
Ideas to discuss with your children
Mrs Carey’s Concert is a documentary about school students who experience personal growth through pursuing their dreams with the support of their teachers. It is a heartfelt record of the journey for the teachers and students alike.
The main message of the movie is that if you put in enough effort and fully commit to your goals, you can achieve things you might not have thought possible.
Values in this movie that you might want to encourage in your children include being committed and working hard, supporting friends when they need you, and respecting your teachers.
You could also talk about the following issues:
- truanting from school
- lying to parents and teachers
- disrupting class and getting in the way of others students’ learning
- acting in risky ways.