{"id":6342,"date":"2026-08-21T08:05:54","date_gmt":"2026-08-21T08:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6342"},"modified":"2026-08-21T08:05:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-21T08:05:54","slug":"the-marching-band-review-brothers-from-opposite-worlds-are-united-by-music-in-a-finely-tuned-french-crowdpleaser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6342","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Marching Band\u2019 Review: Brothers From Opposite Worlds Are United by Music in a Finely Tuned French Crowdpleaser"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\u201cThe Marching Band\u201d blasts through more story in its first 12 minutes than many films now manage in two hours. In those first 720 seconds we meet Thibaut (Benjamin Lavernhe), a well-heeled classical music conductor in Paris, who discovers that he will need to find a blood marrow transplant as he has leukemia; he learns that his sister is not a match, as he was adopted; he then discovers a biological brother, Jimmy (Pierre Lottin), who was not adopted and still lives in a disadvantaged working-class community in the north of France; he asks his new-found brother to help him, and Jimmy accepts.<\/p>\n

That concision is evident in an almost brutally economical edit and in sharp, precise writing which provides narrative elements and deftly sketches character before moving busily on. Just as a marching band keeps time with its feet, so \u201cThe Marching Band\u201d strides on, hitting the requisite notes and paying attention to the melody, sure, but especially making sure to hold the beat and keep the show on the road. This attention to rhythm helps director Emmanuel Courcol\u2018s film to stay true as it navigates some rather rocky terrain, for it is at once a mismatched buddy movie, a socially conscious crowdpleaser in the vein of, say, \u201cThe Full Monty,\u201d and a sophisticated psychological drama \u00e0 la fran\u00e7aise<\/em>. <\/p>\n

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\n\tThat the film mostly pulls this off is testament to its formal precision and to a central pairing of actors, in Lavernhe and Lottin, who manage to find subtlety where broad strokes would seem to be called for. More than two years after its Cannes premiere, \u201cThe Marching Band\u201d opens theatrically in the U.S. this week through Greenwich Entertainment.<\/p>\n

Once the film has dispatched its initial premise \u2014 the leukemia storyline is essentially a MacGuffin, and soon disappears for a sizable stretch \u2014 it can get down to the business of developing a bond between the characters, and establishing its (gentle) social critique. Jimmy, who works as a cook in a canteen, has a musical gift, which throws into sharp relief the different chances both men have been given in life. A scene in which this terse, withdrawn young man is revealed to have perfect pitch is typical of \u201cThe Marching Band\u2019s\u201d best qualities in its appealing first hour or so: Thibaut asks his brother to identify the sounds of a honking car or a barking dog, and Jimmy shyly names the correct chords. That pertness should be unbearable, but the scene is written in a minor key and performed by both actors to match, favouring eye contact and murmurs; the sheer brevity prevents it from becoming gloopy or crass.<\/p>\n

The casting of Lavernhe and Lottin is particularly inspired, as the two performers bring an affect to these characters that mimics the story\u2019s dynamic. Lavernhe, credited as \u201cBenjamin Lavernhe de la Com\u00e9die-Fran\u00e7aise,\u201d comes from a background in classical theatre, and performs his role with worldly elegance; Lottin, meanwhile, is a veteran of the popular comedy franchise \u201cLes Tuche\u201d, centering on a working-class family from the north of France. These sensibilities come together in the film\u2019s tight dialogue, as when the two men meet and Thibaut introduces himself: \u201cMy name is Thibaut Desormeaux, and two weeks ago I learned I have leukemia\u2026\u201d Jimmy: \u201cAh, shit.\u201d Thibaut: \u201cYes.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tLottin is particularly intelligent in articulating Jimmy\u2019s shame at his lack of means and achievement, inflected with pride and a lightly worn resentment that comes out in bursts of passive-aggressive joshing; meanwhile, Lavernhe deftly portrays the well-meaning and likable Thibaut as, conversely, insufficiently ashamed of his good fortune, at least early on: This smooth Parisian bobo does not even perceive how he flaunts his wealth and education.<\/p>\n

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\n\tIn parallel, \u201cThe Marching Band\u201d depicts a working-class community struggling with poverty and unemployment, for whom the musical collective \u2014 in which Jimmy plays the trombone, alongside his on-off girlfriend Sabrina (Sarah Suco) \u2014 has become a lifeline. Thibaut becomes involved, but will he be able to save the band from ruin? Here, the film closely mirrors the 1996 British comedy \u201cBrassed Off,\u201d making it a dead cert that we\u2019ll eventually get a barn-burning finale showing the federating power of music in adversity. <\/p>\n

\n\tRevealing how that comes about would enter spoiler territory, but saying that it happens at all is germane, as it shows that the film finally falls victim to formula. In these pre-ordained moments \u2014 a surfeit of montages, an artificial falling-out between the brothers, the occasional dip into the saccharine \u2014 \u201cThe Marching Band\u201d becomes a touch pleased with itself. The formula works (and the film has the domestic box-office receipts to prove it), but it detracts somewhat from the project\u2019s smarts elsewhere.<\/p>\n

In a well-presented technical package, plaudits should go to editor Guerric Catala for a cut that attempts to shun sentiment, and to Christel Birot for costumes that smartly outline both character and class differences via the means of double denim or a freshly pressed felted overshirt. The music department, as well as Courcol\u2019s lively directing and writing, must be commended for scenes of the brass ensemble playing and rehearsing, in a constantly dynamic interaction with dialogue. The zippy soundtrack, much like the film itself, veers between surprisingly choice cuts (the aching \u201cI Remember Clifford\u201d by Lee Morgan) and rabble-rousing crowdpleasers (Dalida, or the overture from \u201cAida\u201d). Ravel\u2019s \u201cBolero,\u201d which repeats the same phrase over and over again but with tonal differences each time, also features.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\u2018The Marching Band\u2019 Review: Brothers From Opposite Worlds Are United by Music in a Finely Tuned French Crowdpleaser<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n

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\t\tReviewed online, Aug. 19, 2026. (In Cannes, San Sebastian film festivals.) Running time: 103 MIN. (Original title: “En fanfare”)<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n

    \n
  • \nProduction:<\/strong>
    \n(France) A Greenwich Entertainment (in U.S.) release of an Agat Films production in co-production with France 2 Cin\u00e9ma in association with Cineaxe 5, Entourage Sofica 2, Ind\u00e9films 12, La Banque Postale, Image 17, SG Image 2022, Sofitvcine 11. (World sales: Playtime, Paris.) Producers: Marc Boudre, Robert Gu\u00e9diguian. Executive producer: Stefano Jacono.\t\t\t<\/li>\n
  • \nCrew:<\/strong>
    \nDirector: Emmanuel Courcol. Screenplay: Courcol, Ir\u00e8ne Muscari, in collaboration with Oriane Bonduel, Marianne Tomersy. Camera: Maxence Lemonnier. Editor: Guerric Catala. Music: Michel Petrossian.\t\t\t<\/li>\n
  • \nWith:<\/strong>
    \nBenjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Lottin, Sarah Suco, Jacques Bonnaff\u00e9, Ludmila Mika\u00ebl. \t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A hit in France, Emmanuel Courcol’s ‘The Marching Band’ succumbs to formula, but is lifted by its precise construction and fine lead performances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6341,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4915,4916,4917,4918],"class_list":["post-6342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-film","tag-benjamin-lavernhe","tag-emmanuel-courcol","tag-pierre-lottin","tag-the-marching-band"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018The Marching Band\u2019 Review: Brothers From Opposite Worlds Are United by Music in a Finely Tuned French Crowdpleaser - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=6342\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018The Marching Band\u2019 Review: Brothers From Opposite Worlds Are United by Music in a Finely Tuned French Crowdpleaser - 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