The Marchers

The Marchers
The Marchers
Directed by	Nabil Ben Yadir
Written by	Nabil Ben Yadir; Nadia Lakhdar; Ahmed Ahmidi
Produced by	Diana Elbaum; Benoit Roland; Hugo Sélignac
Starring	Jamel Debbouze; Olivier Gourmet; Lubna Azabal; Hafsia Herzi
Cinematography	Danny Elsen
Edited by	Damien Keyeux
Music by	Stephen Warbeck
Production; companies	Chi-Fou-Mi; France 3; Europa Corp; Entre Chien et Loup; Belgacom TV
Distributed by	EuropaCorp. Distribution (France)
Release dates	8 November 2013 (Arras Film Festival); 27 November 2013 (France and Belgium);
Running time	120 minutes
Countries	France; Belgium
Languages	French; Arabic
Budget	$11 million
Box office	$1.3 million

The Marchers (French: La Marche) is a 2013 French comedy-drama film by Nabil Ben Yadir. It is loosely based on the events surrounding the 1983 March for Equality and Against Racism.

The film's release in November 2013 coincided with the 30th anniversary of the march.^[3]

Plot

In 1983 France, teenaged Mohamed is shot by a policeman, but survives. Rejecting his friends' proposal of violent retribution, he proposes political action inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi.^[1] With two friends, and support from Dubois, the priest of Minguettes, they embark on a non-violent March for Equality and Against Racism from Marseille to Paris.

Cast

Tewfik Jallab as Mohamed
Vincent Rottiers as Sylvain
M'Barek Belkouk as Farid
Nader Boussandel as Yazid
Lubna Azabal as Kheira
Hafsia Herzi as Monia
Olivier Gourmet as Dubois
Charlotte Le Bon as Claire
Philippe Nahon as René Ledu
Jamel Debbouze as Hassan
Malik Zidi as Philippe, the RG
Simon Abkarian as Farid's father
Corinne Masiero as Dominique
Rufus as François, pastor
Benjamin Lavernhe as Thomas
Kévin Azaïs as Rémi
Françoise Miquelis as Georgina Dufoix
Finnegan Oldfield as Radio Host

Comparison to historical events

Answering a question about taking "liberties with the narration when telling a true story", director and co-writer Ben Yadir said: "You focus on the great History: the towns, the march of the torches, the return to Lyon, the death of Habib Grimzi [fr], all these images that pull you back to reality... But at the start in Marseilles, there was a group of 32, and we obviously could not make a movie with 32 characters. We thus created 10 characters around which we built short stories."^[4]

Release

The Marchers had theatrical showings in North America as part of the Rendez-vous with French Cinema series 2014 program.^[5]

Reception

Boyd van Hoeij of The Hollywood Reporter said "[t]he film’s message of equality is loud and sincere but Yadir, here directing his second feature, struggles to maintain a workable entente between the downbeat story [...] with misplaced-feeling broad humor."^[6]

Peter Debruge of Variety called it "uplifting story of racial tolerance [which] should travel well."^[7]

Le Parisien gave it a positive review.^[8]

Accolades

Award	Category	Recipient(s)	Result
Lumières Awards	Best Screenplay	Nabil Ben Yadir	Nominated
Lumières Awards	Best Male Revelation	Tewfik Jallab	Nominated
Magritte Awards	Best Film	The Marchers	Nominated
	Best Director	Nabil Ben Yadir	Nominated
	Best Screenplay	Nabil Ben Yadir	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actor	Olivier Gourmet	Nominated
	Best Supporting Actress	Lubna Azabal	Won
	Best Editing	Damien Keyeux	Won

References

^ ^a ^b "The Marchers". Film Society of Lincoln Center. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
^ "La Marche (2013) - JPBox-Office".
^ Wiseman, Andreas (27 March 2013). "Nabil Ben Yadir shooting 'Marche des Beurs' film with Debbouze, Gourmet". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
^ Engelen, Aurore (15 November 2013). "Interview: Nabil Ben Yadir • Director: "France didn't know how to accept the extended hand before it became a raised fist"". Cineuropa. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
^ "Program 2014". Rendez-vous with French Cinema. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
^ Hoeij, Boyd van (29 November 2013). "The Marchers (La Marche): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
^ Debruge, Peter (2 December 2013). "Film Review: 'La Marche'". Variety. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
^ "" La Marche ", on y court". Le Parisien (in French). 27 November 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2014.

External links

The Marchers at IMDb
The Marchers at AllMovie
The Marchers at Rotten Tomatoes
La marche at Allocine
The Marchers / La Marche trailer on YouTube (with English subtitles)

[filmlinc-1] "The Marchers". Film Society of Lincoln Center. Retrieved 2 April 2014.

[2] "La Marche (2013) - JPBox-Office".

[Screen-3] Wiseman, Andreas (27 March 2013). "Nabil Ben Yadir shooting 'Marche des Beurs' film with Debbouze, Gourmet". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2 April 2014.

[Cineuropa-4] Engelen, Aurore (15 November 2013). "Interview: Nabil Ben Yadir • Director: "France didn't know how to accept the extended hand before it became a raised fist"". Cineuropa. Retrieved 3 April 2014.

[rendezvouswithfrenchcinema-5] "Program 2014". Rendez-vous with French Cinema. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.

[hollywoodreporter-6] Hoeij, Boyd van (29 November 2013). "The Marchers (La Marche): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 April 2014.

[variety-7] Debruge, Peter (2 December 2013). "Film Review: 'La Marche'". Variety. Retrieved 2 April 2014.

[8] "" La Marche ", on y court". Le Parisien (in French). 27 November 2013. Retrieved 3 April 2014.

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