Director: Emmanuelle Courcol

Stars: Benjamin Lavernhe, Pierre Lottin, Sarah Suco, Jacques Bonnaffé, Ludmila Mikaël

A big hit in its native France, this slightly rote inspirational feelgood film is elevated by a pair of endearing central performances. Thibault (Lavernhe) is a globe-trotting feted orchestra conductor based in Lille. Thibault’s seemingly charmed life is disrupted when he is diagnosed with leukaemia. A DNA test reveals that he is adopted. In an attempt to locate a bone marrow donor, Thibault tracks down his brother Jimmy (Lottin) a gruff, divorced factory worker who lives in a small, depressed town in the north. Jimmy is initially unimpressed with his newfound brother’s appearance, but essentially a decent bloke, he agrees to donate bone marrow. After the operation, a relationship of sorts develops, bolstered by the discovery by Thibault that his brother plays trombone in the factory’s marching band, and that the factory is under threat. As they spend time together the two reflect on their respective childhoods. Director-co-writer Courcol’s film plays like a Gallic take on the broad, finely calibrated 90s fare that characterised Britflicks that were rife in the nineties/noughties (‘Brassed Off’ and ‘Billy Elliott’ spring to mind), particularly in its overwrought, emotional ending. The relationship between the brothers is nicely realised though, particularly Lottin revealing the vulnerability and loneliness underneath Jimmy’s blokey exterior.

David Willoughby

Follow David on Bluesky  @davidwilloughby.bsky.social