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The Marchers

The Marchers (La Marche)

Movie · 2013 · 3 people

Nabil Ben Yadir wrote and directed The Marchers (La Marche in France), a French-Belgian comedy-drama of 2013. The story draws freely on what happened around the 1983 March for Equality and Against Racism, and the film was released in November 2013, thirty years after the march. Shot in French and Arabic, it runs two hours and was produced by EuropaCorp.

The story follows Mohamed, a young man who survives a police shooting, turns down calls for revenge and chooses peaceful action inspired by Martin Luther King and Gandhi, setting off with friends on the march from Marseille to Paris. Alongside Hafsia Herzi, Lubna Azabal and Rufus, the cast includes Jamel Debbouze, Charlotte Le Bon, Olivier Gourmet, Malik Zidi and Corinne Masiero.

The film flopped with critics and the public alike. Some of the 1983 marchers found it true to the spirit of their movement, while others felt the political side had been played down or that it strayed from historical fact. Around its release a controversy also arose over a song by the rapper Nekfeu, associated with the film though not on its soundtrack, that attacked the magazine Charlie Hebdo; he regretted those words after the attack on the magazine in 2015.

DirectorNabil Ben Yadir
Production companyEuropaCorp
The Marchers (La Marche) The Marchers (La Marche)

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Cast

Only cast members with a profile on this site are listed.

Hafsia Herzi Hafsia Herzi Film actor · 39 years old Lubna Azabal Lubna Azabal Actor · 53 years old Rufus Rufus Actor · 83 years old

Through different eyes

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film is loosely drawn from the 1983 March for Equality and Against Racism, so its subject is a real social movement. Mohamed, who survives a police shooting, turns down calls for revenge and chooses a peaceful path inspired by Martin Luther King and Gandhi, which brings the struggle for equality against racism in France into view. The march from Marseille to Paris is a powerful symbol of civil resistance and solidarity. But as some of the original marchers said, the criticism that the political side was played down and that the film strays too far from the facts can't be ignored. The comedy-drama tone makes the subject accessible, though it seems to take something away from its depth.

Family Viewer Asks whether the whole household can watch it; cares about humour and heart.

An important subject: young people marching against racism without violence. The message of peaceful struggle is a good one to share with kids. But it's the story of a young man who survives a police shooting, and at two hours long, little ones may get bored. Better to watch with middle- and high-schoolers and talk it over afterwards. It's in French and Arabic, so you may need subtitles.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

Written and directed by Nabil Ben Yadir, the film fits a real march into a road-movie mould, a sensible way to gather a large group into a single journey. Strong performers such as Hafsia Herzi, Lubna Azabal, Jamel Debbouze and Olivier Gourmet enrich the cast. The trouble is tone: swinging between comedy and drama, the story struggles to carry the weight of its subject, and the two-hour running time only makes that indecision more visible. Timed for the march's thirtieth anniversary, it failed with critics and audiences alike, which is not surprising from this angle. Well-meaning and anchored in an important subject, but scattered as cinema.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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