By Dan Skip Allen

It’s rare that you see a film that surprises you like “The Marching Band” previously “En Fanfare” the original French name did for me. The title is a bit nondescript. So it doesn’t give away anything except that there may be a marching band in the movie. The story was a whole lot more than that, though. It’s a French film that delivers drama and humor, but also has a lot of heart to it. I’d be surprised if anybody came away from this movie, and they said they didn’t like it. Because there is a lot to like about this story and film. It’s got a relatability to it that I could get behind.

Thibaut (Benjamin Lavernhe) is a somewhat famous and renowned composer in Paris when one day he collapses while in a practice session of his orchestra. He goes to the hospital and is diagnosed with leukemia. The doctor informs him that he needs a bone marrow transplant. So after his sister was found to be a negative donor but also not his blood relative, he had to go find another donor. It turned out he had a brother that he didn’t know about. He decided to go find this man and ask him to help him out. After reluctantly turning him down, Jimmy (Pierre Lottin) eventually decides to do the bone marrow transfer his now new brother needs. Once the surgery is a success, these two once strangers find out they both start to have similar interests.  They start to bond over the fact that they both love music and are well versed in classical music. 

One of the brothers, as mentioned, is a well-known composer, and the other brother is a factory worker who plays trombone in a marching band. Hence the title of the movie. As they get to know each other, they realize they have this connection. When the marching band’s conductor leaves for greener pastures, the band is in need of a new leader. At first, the band members try to recruit the composer as the conductor of the band, but instead, they end up trying to train the other brother to be the new conductor instead. Things start going good for the band as they are prepaid for a parade and a context in town until, by some unexplainable reason, they fall apart. This causes a rift between the two brothers.

I have two blood brothers, and I can say I’ve had my ups and downs with my brothers quite a bit in my lifetime.  At first, my twin brother and I got along quite well. We were inseparable growing up. We lived together for a while. Until he moved away, and we weren’t as close anymore. My other brother moved away at a young age and started a family until he decided to move back to the town where I live and his wife’s family is from. We haven’t always gotten along, but we realize we’re the only family we have, so we try to get along and see each other from time to time. We still have our differences, but we’re closer now than we ever were before.That’s the relatability to this story I have. We all have family, so this is a key element for viewers of the film to be connected to it.

Another thing that can connect the audience watching this film is the music and how music brings people together. In an orchestra, you have to combine a lot of different sounds from various instruments to make something beautiful. The composer helps bring that all together. That’s the same thing that happens with a marching band to a lesser extent. Except you have to move while playing the instruments. With both of these, the combination of music is the end game. They combine to create help to something beautiful. That’s where the scores come in  regarding the choices of what to play and how audiences interact with these choices. The film does a great job of using music as a glue that puts everything together.

As someone who has lost his job because of outsourcing and various other jobs because of other reasons, I understand it’s not easy to recoup from losing a job. Finding something to take your mind off of the financial struggles this may cause isn’t easy. The band in the case of this movie is that for these people in this town. It helps them join together to become something bigger than just individuals. As a co-worker and member of the band, the Rottin character is a key part of that. They all have to stick together through thick and thin. When a difficult thing happens to a loved one or someone you care about, you have to come together to be something better for everyone involved. The film has a moment where I was very emotional, and I’m sure others watching will have a similar reaction. This was a very moving scene in the film.

“The Marching Band” was a movie that had a lot going on in it. It had a family storyline involving two long-lost brothers who found each other and became friends. It has a camaraderie among a group of struggling townspeople. And it has the love of music that brings them all together. There is a lot to like in this film and I’m sure many who watch it will like it. Not knowing what I was getting myself into with this movie made it so much better once I finally watched it. It was very relatable to me on a family level, and the fact I lost my job is another fact as well. I think a lot of people will relate to it on many levels as I did, if not just for the music, which is a whole level to this film that is fantastic as well.

4 stars