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The Marching Band
This gently humorous French drama, led by two of France’s most watchable actors, is a simple yet effective story about the power of music to overcome barriers and give solace in difficult times. An uplifting film, reminiscent of Brassed Off, it was a great success with the audience at the Cannes Festival last year.
Benjamin Lavernhe (comedically brilliant as the over-zealous bridegroom some of you will have seen in C’est La Vie) plays Thibaut, an internationally reknowned musician and conductor who discovers he has leukaemia and needs an immediate bone-marrow transplant. He discovers he is adopted with no blood relatives who can serve as a donor. He embarks on a journey to find a match. His search leads him to Jimmy (Pierre Lottin, When Autumn Falls, The Stranger), a caféteria worker in a colliery near Lille, who plays the trombone in the colliery marching band and has a passion for jazz. Thibaut recognises Jimmy’s musical ability and, reflecting on the good fortune of his own background and how the choices made for them in their respective childhoods have determined their very different lives, he decides to encourage him to fulfil his natural talent. Jimmy begins to dream of a different life …
Maybe not a wholly original plot but it still resonates. The engaging chemistry of the two leads gives this unpretentious story authenticity and a diverse range of music enhances this good-natured and heart-warming tale.
Why Watch?
The Marching Band is a film that, without great pretensions, manages to thrill … to move the viewer with its balance between humour and drama, showing how art can overcome barriers and serve as a refuge in difficult times. (The Herald)
Language: French with subtitles