Funny, poignant and human: a sibling study that rings true

M, 103 minutes

4 stars

Films are often retitled for foreign markets - sometimes more than once. The reasons aren't always obvious and some new titles work better than others. This French film was originally called En Fanfare (With Great Fanfare), which works, and on the Internet Movie Database there's one English-language retitling, The Marching Band, that's literal and honest. But I like the one used here, which puts the focus on the sibling relationship that's at the heart of the film as well as the music.

Director and co-writer Emmanuel Courcol has made a wonderfully entertaining film that's funny and poignant and human. It's somewhat reminiscent of such British films as Brassed Off! and The Full - compliment intended - but has its own rich Gallic flavour too.

While conducting a rehearsal of Beethoven's dramatic Coriolan Overture in Paris, Thibaut Desormeaux (Benjamin Lavernhe) collapses. He is diagnosed with leukaemia and urgently needs a bone marrow donor.

As if he didn't have enough to deal with, this is the time Thibaut finds out he was adopted (Seriously? Nobody ever thought to mention it?) so the chance that someone in his family is likely to be a match is very small indeed. But some digging reveals Thibaut has a biological brother who might be able to save his life.

It's more than a little awkward to turn up at a complete stranger's house, announce yourself as his long-lost sibling and request that he undergo a medical procedure for you toute de suite.

Thibaut's brother is Jimmy Lecocq (Pierre Lottin), a divorced canteen worker in an industrial town who lives with his own adoptive mother and doesn't see much of his daughter. He's initially a little reluctant to help out - it's all quite a shock - but soon comes around. And the treatment works: the cancer is in remission.

All this, which could just about have furnished the story for a movie in itself, unfolds briskly - perhaps a little too briskly, though that's better than dragging - and there's plenty more to come.

Despite being raised in different families, the brothers have one thing in common. Jimmy is also a musician, if not at Thibaut's level of accomplishment. Rather than jetting around the world conducting major orchestras, Jimmy plays the trombone in a community brass band, many of whose members work in a local factory. And he is more into jazz than classical music. But Thibaut likes jazz too and music is a way for the brothers to bond.

The band is preparing for a competition and Thibaut, not surprisingly, is roped into helping out. They're playing an arrangement of The Grand March from Verdi's Aida so it's very much in the classical conductor's bailiwick. The band's rehearsals are marked by spats and insults, comedic moments that are a little broad at times but add some colour and give other characters their moments in the spotlight.

But not everything is light and happy. Jimmy can't help being resentful of Thibaut, who was adopted by a much more affluent family and had opportunities his brother could only dream about. Thibaut understands he was lucky and gives Jimmy an expensive new trombone - a thoughtful gift, but one that also highlights the differences in their circumstances. This tension is maintained skilfully throughout.

Jimmy and his bandmates face another challenge: the factory is threatened with closure. There's a lot happening.

Much depends on Lavernhe and Lottin and the two actors, individually and together, are excellent. Their relationship with its ups and downs feels real and so do the differences in their characters' respective personalities and lives. There are plenty of good supporting performances, too - family members, bandmates, a potential love interest for Jimmy - and a real sense of a world being created.

There's one moment that's extremely French - one character invites another to address him by the familiar "tu" rather than the more formal "vous".

And, of course, there's the music. Classical works by Mendelssohn, Mozart and others are heard throughout and Ravel's Bolero plays an important part. Thibaut is also a composer and we hear one of his pieces but, call me a philistine, it didn't grab me.

My Brother's Band is a very appealing human story with plenty of light and shade, well worth seeing.