Reviewed on May 19th at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival – Cannes Premiere Section. 103 Mins
Cast: Benjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Lottin, Sarah Suco, Clémence Massart-Weit, Ludmila Mikaël
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
Director: Emmanuel Courcol
In Irish Cinemas: 16th May 2025
At its heart, The Marching Band is a story about two brothers—and more profoundly, about the transformative power of music. Music, in this case, becomes more than just a background or theme; it’s the universal language that bridges seemingly insurmountable divides, drawing people together regardless of their backgrounds or personalities.
Thibaut (played with nuance by Benjamin Lavernhe) and Jimmy (the irrepressible Pierre Lottin) couldn’t appear more different when we first meet them. Thibaut, refined and composed, commands the stage as a world-class symphony orchestra conductor. In a sweeping, emotionally charged rehearsal, his mastery of the music is evident—until he suddenly collapses mid-performance.
A visit to the doctor reveals a grave diagnosis: Thibaut suffers from a rare condition requiring an urgent bone marrow transplant. The immediate hope lies in his younger sister. Still, the test results deliver a double blow—not only is she incompatible, but genetic tests show that they aren’t even biologically related. Thibaut, it turns out, was adopted.
This revelation is an even bigger surprise: Thibaut has a biological brother. Enter Jimmy—a brash, swaggering cafeteria worker in the industrial northern city of Lille. He’s rough around the edges, quick with a joke, and seemingly uninterested in the refined world of classical music. When he’s told he has a brother—an elite, upper-crust maestro—his instinct is disbelief and mockery. To him, Thibaut is “Mr. Posho,” a world away from his reality.
Yet Jimmy reluctantly agrees to help. The transplant is a success. By most narratives, that would be the end. But the real story is only beginning.
One day, a jazz tune—Clifford Brown on the trumpet—echoes through the room. And something clicks. Music becomes the meeting point where titles, backgrounds, and prejudices dissolve. Jimmy, as it turns out, is no stranger to rhythm. He plays the trombone in a scrappy but spirited local marching band, a beloved institution in his community without a conductor.
Enter Thibaut, once more with baton in hand—this time in a different setting. As he tries to lead this unpolished, eccentric group of musicians, the contrast between his polished orchestral training and their rough-and-tumble style is a source of constant comedy. But slowly, hilariously, and movingly, they find harmony—musically and emotionally.
Laughter abounds, but so does tenderness. Thibaut’s condition worsens, casting a shadow over the joyful noise. The brothers’ bond deepens as the stakes rise, and the film builds toward a crescendo of emotional release.
While The Marching Band embraces a familiar structure—a mismatched duo, a life-threatening illness, an underdog ensemble—it does so with genuine warmth and craftsmanship. The film strikes a resonant chord reminiscent of Brassed Off, The Intouchables, and even Ken Loach—though this time, Loach is smiling. The fingerprints of Robert Guédiguian’s socially conscious cinema are unmistakable (his production company backs the project), grounding the film’s sentimentality with a sense of lived-in realism.
The Marching Band arrives like a welcome breeze in a film festival lineup teeming with body horror, gender-bending crime thrillers, and political satire. A heartfelt crowd-pleaser with an ear for both laughter and sorrow, it reminds us that sometimes, the most powerful connection doesn’t come from blood, but from a shared note in the right key.
Overall: 6.5/10
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