CinemaCloud
ComedyDramaMusic

The Marching Band

User Score459 votes
73%7.3/10
Release2024
Runtime1H 43M
LanguageEnglish
StatusReleased

Synopsis

Diagnosed with leukemia, a successful orchestra conductor learns that he is adopted, and his younger brother is in a village marching band. The conductor decides to help them win a regional contest.

Principal Cast8

Full Cast & Crew (66)

Media13

Backdrops

The Marching Band backdrop 1
The Marching Band backdrop 2
The Marching Band backdrop 3
The Marching Band backdrop 4
The Marching Band backdrop 5
The Marching Band backdrop 6
The Marching Band backdrop 7

Posters

The Marching Band poster 1
The Marching Band poster 2
The Marching Band poster 3
The Marching Band poster 4
The Marching Band poster 5
The Marching Band poster 6

Director

Emmanuel Courcol

Emmanuel Courcol

Director →

Trailer

Box Office

Budget$6M
Revenue$26M

Keywords

brotherhoodmarching bandadoptedorchestra conductorbrother brother relationshipamusedsympathetictragic

External Links

Reviews1

CinemaSerf7/10

“Thibaut” (Benjamin Lavernhe) is an accomplished conductor who is now based in the USA but who comes home to France now and again to perform. It’s during one such visit that he confides to his sister “Rose” (Mathilde Courcol-Rozés) that he needs a bone-marrow transplant. She readily agrees to help out but when she is found to be incompatible, that news opens quite a can of worms that results in him having to ask “Jimmy” (Pierre Lottin) - a brother he didn’t know he had and who lives in a quietly dying town where his workplace is earmarked for closure, to help out. Initially uninterested and disbelieving, the film now illustrates just how the two men come to terms with their past, their present and (hopefully) their future against a backdrop of resentment and privilege as they try to reconcile with the elements of “luck of the draw” that have governed their lives thus far. Fortunately, they have one thing in common. They both love music, and as it transpires that “Jimmy” plays trombone in his local mineworkers band we have a conduit for them to bond - or not! There are shades of “Brassed Off” (1996) as this offers us a social commentary on the decline of traditional rural industries that leave little by way of hope or opportunity in it’s wake; a little bit of romance and some seriously horrible uniforms too! Along the way, there is also some fine classical Mozart, some crooning from Charles Aznavour and some enjoyable band rehearsals with an eclectic collection of the townsfolk proving remarkably talented with instrument and voice alike - after a soupçon of guidance. No, there probably isn’t so much jeopardy about the denouement, though there is a twist - it’s really a story about family and one that’s presented without too much sentiment and a bit of enjoyably bloody-minded Gallic humour. I was never quite sure what an orchestral conductor actually did, standing there flailing his baton at a collection of perfectly proficient musicians, but this might just have helped explain a little - and that seating matters too!

Jun 18, 2025

Similar Movies

Recommended

Countries:France
Production:Agat Films & Cie / Ex NihiloFrance 2 Cinéma