The Marchers

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 Marchers
Directed byNabil Ben Yadir
Written byNabil Ben Yadir
Nadia Lakhdar
Ahmed Ahmidi
Produced byDiana Elbaum
Benoit Roland
Hugo Sélignac
StarringJamel Debbouze
Olivier Gourmet
Lubna Azabal
Hafsia Herzi
CinematographyDanny Elsen
Edited byDamien Keyeux
Music byStephen Warbeck
Production
companies
Chi-Fou-Mi
France 3
Europa Corp
Entre Chien et Loup
Belgacom TV
Distributed byEuropaCorp. Distribution (France)
Release dates
  • 8 November 2013 (2013-11-08) (Arras Film Festival)
  • 27 November 2013 (2013-11-27) (France and Belgium)[1]
Running time
120 minutes
CountriesFrance
Belgium
LanguagesFrench
Arabic
Budget$11 million
Box office$1.3 million[2]

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

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, 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
Most Promising Actor 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
  1. "The Marchers". Film Society of Lincoln Center. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  2. "La Marche (2013) - JPBox-Office".
  3. Wiseman, Andreas (27 March 2013). "Nabil Ben Yadir shooting 'Marche des Beurs' film with Debbouze, Gourmet". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  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.
  5. "Program 2014". Rendez-vous with French Cinema. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  6. Hoeij, Boyd van (29 November 2013). "The Marchers (La Marche): Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  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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