Why we picked it–

Synopsis – Acclaimed conductor Thibaut has leukaemia and needs a bone marrow donor. Learning he was adopted, he finds an older brother, a musician and factory worker in northern France. But this is not a French Brassed Off. The brothers’ reunion sparks a fraternal, musical journey set in the context of the closure of the town’s factory.

The film– Northern France is an historical coal-mining region and there is a concentration of brass bands among the working-class community there, similar to those in the north of England. In some ways, this is a classic French set-up of sophisticated Parisian meets provincial and both learn from each other. But the film has additional depth and the brothers’ relationship is the core of the film. Adoption, nature and nurture are explored. Cliché is avoided with at least two possible obvious endings effectively dodged.

Links – imdb Guardian review Financial Times review Le Figaro review

Director and Writer: Emanuel Courcol Other writers: Irene Muscari, Oriane Bonduel, Cinematography: Maxence Lemmonier France 2024