Prestigious Thibaut Desormeaux (Benjamin Lavernhe), a celebrated conductor, collapses during the orchestra rehearsal that opens the movie, and is soon diagnosed with leukemia. He must seek out a bone marrow donor, and when he turns to his kooky sister, he unexpectedly discovers, at the age of 38, that he’s adopted.
When he travels beyond Paris to find the brother he never knew he had, he meets Jimmy Lecocq (Pierre Lottin), who is revealed to play the trombone in a band comprised of pals from a local factory that’s surely soon to be shut down, although the musicians have been protesting for months. It also becomes abundantly clear that Jimmy possesses the same musical gift that Thibaut has, which introduces a series of thorny themes about class, family, and sheer chance. After all, what if the siblings had been swapped during their adoptions all those years ago?
There’s a great deal going on here, and yet none of it is soppy or simplistic, and director Courcol eases beautifully understated performances from his whole cast, especially Lavernhe and Lottin. In fact, Lottin is probably the one you’ll remember: it might well be primarily Thibaut’s story, but Jimmy’s the more complex and less cute of the pair.
Furthermore, there’s a cautious (and very French) realism to the narrative, which means that, as the plot progresses, it seems that no matter what the characters do, they just can’t seem to help hurting someone, or themselves.
C’est la vie.
MY BROTHER’S BAND (M)
(4 out of 5 stars)
Now showing at palacenova.com.au
