Latest news with #EmmanuelCourcol
Times
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
The Marching Band review — a comedy so French it should be wearing a beret
The French have two speeds of comedy — incredibly fast, like the farces of Feydeau, or gentle and low-key, like The Marching Band. Emmanuel Courcol's amiable feelgood film tells the story of Thibaut Desormeaux (Benjamin Lavernhe), a renowned orchestra conductor who, after being diagnosed with leukaemia, discovers through a DNA test that he was adopted. In search of a bone marrow donor, he approaches his new-found brother, Jimmy Lecocq (Pierre Lottin), who works in a school canteen in a small northern town and plays trombone for a local marching band. If this film were British or American it would have been worked up into a broad, Billy Elliot-like culture-clash comedy in which the highfalutin classical snob learns salt-of-the earth life lessons from his
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Middle East-Taiwan Action-Comedy ‘Masala Boba' Reunites Kleos, Light House at Cannes Market (EXCLUSIVE)
India's Kleos Entertainment Group and Taiwan's Light House Productions are doubling down on their successful partnership, unveiling their sophomore collaboration 'Masala Boba' at the Cannes Film Market. The project follows their upcoming Taiwan-India action-comedy 'Demon Hunters' (set for winter 2025 release). The action-adventure comedy will be helmed by Uzair Merchant. More from Variety Playtime Reunites With 'Marching Band' Filmmaker Emmanuel Courcol for 'Greenland' Starring Cesar-Winning Sandrine Kiberlain, Benoit Magimel (EXCLUSIVE) Fatih Akin Readies 'Anatolian Dragon' and 'Ghosts' as 'Amrum' Premieres at Cannes 'Ferrari' Producer Niels Juul's No Fat Ego Ramps Up Operations as Mark Williams Boards Series on Adidas Founder (EXCLUSIVE) 'Masala Boba,' developed as an English-language project targeting global audiences, aims to fuse high-octane action with comedy while celebrating cultural diversity across its Middle Eastern and Taiwanese settings. Principal photography is scheduled to commence in early 2026. 'Cannes is the perfect platform to introduce a film like 'Masala Boba,' which is as global in its story as it is in its making,' said Cindy Shyu, producer at Light House Productions. 'It reflects our commitment to meaningful and entertaining international co-productions that spotlight the power of cultural collaboration.' The project has gained institutional support, with Jennifer Jao, vice chair of the Taipei Film Commission, noting: ''Masala Boba' exemplifies the kind of bold, cross-cultural storytelling that aligns with our vision to be a global hub for creative innovation. We are proud to support a project that not only unites talent but also showcases the power of international co-productions to connect audiences through shared narratives and diverse voices.' Gayathiri Guliani, co-producer at Kleos Entertainment Group, added: 'The Middle East is a crossroads of global cultures, and this story captures that spirit with originality and heart. We're thrilled by how the project has taken shape and remain deeply grateful for the support extended by Taipei Film Commission and Middle East Film authorities.' Director Merchant characterized the film as 'a genre-defying ride — a cinematic cocktail of chaos, culture, and comedy,' adding that 'now is the time for fresh, cross-cultural narratives that connect with audiences worldwide.' 'Masala Boba' is now in pr-production. The Middle Eastern production entities are being finalized. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Oscars Predictions 2026: 'Sinners' Becomes Early Contender Ahead of Cannes Film Festival
The Guardian
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Marching Band review – tender French concert bromance gets out the trombones
French film-maker Emmanuel Courcol serves up a good-natured heartwarmer with some syrup, but also two watchable and robust lead performances. For British audiences, The Marching Band might call to mind Brassed Off, The Full Monty or Billy Elliot, movies from the heartland which dared to dream that showbusiness or cultural community adventures can somehow survive the wreckage of industrial capitalism. Benjamin Lavernhe plays Thibaut, a distinguished and sensitive orchestra conductor who collapses mid-rehearsal in Paris and is told he has leukaemia and needs a bone marrow transplant donor. Thibaut is adopted and this means tracking down his biological brother out in the boondocks: factory worker Jimmy, played by the formidable Pierre Lottin (recently seen in François Ozon's When Autumn Falls), whose gift for deadpan comedy really only gets free rein at the very beginning of the film. Thibaut has the tricky task of asking someone who is a total stranger if he wouldn't mind donating his bone marrow. But this fraught situation reveals – a little programmatically, perhaps – that Jimmy has a real musical talent, like him, plays trombone in the raucous factory band and nurses a passion for jazz on vinyl. Thibault sees in Jimmy a vision of what his own life could have been without his adoptive mother's comfortable middle-class background, and sees Jimmy and himself through the lens of class, politics and society, and not the supposed destiny of pure talent. But then Jimmy's band needs a conductor … well, there are no prizes for guessing what happens next. Director and co-writer Courcol has to manage the plot so that the question of Thibaut's own emotional life and relationships is more or less forgotten, but the bromance chemistry works well enough and the final concert encore is touching. Sign up to What's On Get the best TV reviews, news and features in your inbox every Monday after newsletter promotion The Marching Band is in UK and Irish cinemas from 16 May.
