The Marching Band

Almost 30 years ago, Brassed Off won the hearts of audiences with its tale of a declining Yorkshire mining town’s brass band. Now France has its own version with Emmanuel Courcol’s En Fanfare, also titled The Marching Band, and it’s every bit as good.

The story focuses on two brothers, Thibaut (Benjamin Lavernhe) and Jimmy (Pierre Lottin) who share a love of music – but could not be more different having grown up apart after being adopted by different families. Thibaut is an internationally renowned conductor while Jimmy works in a factory canteen. They are thrust together when Thibaut discovers he has leukaemia and needs Jimmy for a bone marrow transplant. In between major concerts, Thibaut visits Jimmy in Walincourt, a town in northern France, and the pair bond despite Jimmy’s initial mistrust of “Mr Posho”.

Jimmy plays trombone for the town marching band, who are thrown into turmoil as the factory where many of its players work is threatened with closure, prompting its conductor to move away. Although Thibaut can’t commit to becoming a permanent replacement, with his encouragement Jimmy tries to step up and lead the band in a regional competition, much like Brassed Off’s central band contest.

It’s a lovely warm bath of a film for the most part, as Jimmy and Thibaut’s burgeoning relationship is genuinely touching. Though one with real moments of sadness due to the town and Thibiaut’s situations, and the brothers’ frustration at so many lost years and how differently their lives have turned out.

There’s plenty of humour too among Wallincourt’s cast of misfit characters – with Sarah Suco giving the standout performance as Jimmy’s partner despite understandably playing second fiddle to the male leads. Lavernhe and Lottin are also brilliant as the odd fraternal couple, developing real chemistry as they share their passions and explore their pasts.

The music is also a big draw – with Ravel’s Bolero used in the most compelling way since Torvill and Dean took to the ice at the 1984 Winter Olympics. Despite the moments of levity, it is still a proper tearjerker whose tender moments pack a rare emotional punch.

Brassed Off was a brilliant film because it grasped the pain of a dying world of mining communities killed off by the changes brought to Britain by Margaret Thatcher. Now it has a worthy French successor that shows the world disappearing amid the changes of the 21^st century, as jobs become less secure and many of us become less rooted in communities.

Mark Worgan

The Marching Band does not have a UK release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Cannes Film Festival 2024 coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Cannes Film Festival website here.