''The Marchers'' (french: La Marche) is a 2013 French
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
film by Nabil Ben Yadir. It is loosely based on the events surrounding the 1983
March for Equality and Against Racism The March for Equality and Against Racism (French: ''Marche pour l’égalité et contre le racisme''), also called the March of the Arabs (French: ''Marche des beurs'') by French media (''beur'' is the backslang
Back slang is an English coded la ...
.
The film's release in November 2013 coincided with the 30th anniversary of the march.
Plot
In 1983 France, teenaged Mohamed is shot by a policeman, but survives. Rejecting his friends' proposal of violent
retribution
Retribution may refer to:
* Punishment
* Retributive justice, a theory of justice
** Divine retribution, retributive justice in a religious context
* Revenge, a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance
Film and televis ...
March for Equality and Against Racism The March for Equality and Against Racism (French: ''Marche pour l’égalité et contre le racisme''), also called the March of the Arabs (French: ''Marche des beurs'') by French media (''beur'' is the backslang
Back slang is an English coded la ...
Tewfik Jallab
Tewfik Jallab (born 9 January 1982) is a French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French peop ...
as Mohamed
*
Vincent Rottiers
Vincent Rottiers (born 17 June 1986) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than thirty films since 2002.
He is the older brother of actor Kévin Azaïs
Kévin Azaïs (born 1992) is a French actor. He is best known for his performance ...
as Sylvain
*M'Barek Belkouk as Farid
*Nader Boussandel as Yazid
*
Lubna Azabal
Lubna Azabal (born 15 August 1973) is a Belgian actress of Moroccan–Spanish descent.
Career
Azabal was born on 15 August 1973 in Brussels to a Moroccan father and a Spanish mother.Hafsia Herzi as Monia
* Olivier Gourmet as Dubois
*
Charlotte Le Bon
Charlotte Le Bon (born 4 September 1986) is a Canadian actress, artist, former model and television presenter. She is known for her work in the Canal+ talk show '' Le Grand Journal'', and the films '' Yves Saint Laurent'', ''The Hundred-Foot ...
Malik Zidi
Malik Zidi (born 14 February 1975)ifrance.com is a French film, television and theatre actor. He is a as Philippe, the RG
* Simon Abkarian as Farid's father
*
Corinne Masiero
Corinne Masiero (born 3 February 1964) is a French actress. She was born in Douai. She began acting in her late 20s, initially appearing in the theatre before moving on to the screen. She is best known for her lead role in the 2012 film ''Louise ...
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 , all these images that pull you back to reality... But at the start in
Marseilles
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, 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."
Release
''The Marchers'' had theatrical showings in
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
as part of the Rendez-vous with French Cinema series 2014 program.
Reception
Boyd van Hoeij of '' The Hollywood Reporter'' said " e 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."
Peter Debruge of '' Variety'' called it "uplifting story of racial tolerance hichshould travel well."
''
Le Parisien
''Le Parisien'' (; French for "The Parisian") is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH.
Histor ...