The Band's Visit (Bikur Ha-Tizmoret)

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  February 7, 2009

  kiriyamakazou

  The film opens with the following title card "Once-not long ago-a small Egyptian police band arrived in Israel. Not many remember this...It wasn't that important." For a film to admit it's simplicity and uneventful story before it has even started is both brave and also sets the ...( read more)tone of comedy throughout. The film looks at how in just one night the band change the lives of the locals, just ever so slightly and vice versa. The humour is gentle and stays towards that of the chuckling variety. It's superbly acted and wonderfully shot, capturing a small Israeli town in all it' glory. It's a very good film, with some superb moments of bonding between characters. It really shines through in the delicate dialogue and fragile emotions of the characters.

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  December 30, 2008

  Jungian

  The strength of the film is how so much is communicated by gestures and expressions. a beautiful film that takes some old cliches and tells them within a fresh, austere framework.

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  October 14, 2008

  bort16

  What a charming little film this is. Why is it that foreign comedies seem to be so deftly able to manage intelligence, insight, drama and politics so thoughtfully and naturally? The Band's Visit takes a topic that could have been ripe for violence, but turns it into a tale spun o...( read more)f friendship and our common humanity.
  The film is set in a middle of nowhere Israeli desert town. An Arab police orchestra from Egypt has traveled here by mistake, looking for a town with an almost identical name where they are to play at the opening of an Arab cultural centre. When they arrive in the small town, he's greeted with the news that there is no Arab culture here; "no Israeli culture either, no culture at all!"
  As the group stands in their bright blue suits with their instruments at their feet, they negotiate a deal to get something to eat at the local diner, owned by Dina. After chatting with the bands leader, Tawfiq, she offers to set them up for the night - some at the diner, some with the two men who seem to do nothing but sit outside the diner, and some with her.
  It's obvious that she is attracted to the older Tawfiq. She invites him to come with her. He takes along Khaled, the young band member who lollygags and womanizes.
  That night the band goes with their hosts, and spend the night doing various things. One group, lead by the band's second in command, who has written a concerto but never finished it, eats dinner with an Israeli family. There are tensions that are mostly calmed through a common denominator - song. One member waits for a call on the payphone from the embassy, a phone also stalked by a young man waiting for a call from his girlfriend - How he shoes his annoyance when the phone is in use is quite funny. Khaled goes with a young shy Israeli on a double date as the fifth wheel. He shows him how to charm his date, as the three sit on a bench. It one of the films most charming scenes.
  Elsewhere, Tawfiq and Dina go out and simply chat. She asks him about his life, which he only slowly and reluctantly details.
  Things don't go the way we might expect in a more traditional story, but what we're left with is far more satisfying. The film is shot in muted tones, often with shots set up simply for their photographic value. Take for example the numerous shots of the Orchestra lined up in their sky blue suits, or a moment when Tawfiq, Dina, and Khaled return to her apartment for the night where upon entering all three stop and look forward for a few seconds. These shots have no value other than aesthetic reflection, but they work perfectly. That director Kolirin makes this work is a credit to his daring.
  The Band's Visit is a incredibly charming film, and a pure delight to watch. Comedy goes from slapstick to subtlety without notice, and to drama and sadness just as easily and back again. Sure we don't get what the usual audience would want out of the final story, but it matters not at all. The pay off in this film is so thoughtful, and so touchingly done, what seemed preferable before seems cheap now. This is a great movie.

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  March 7, 2008

  Drewbacca

  The movie itself relies heavily on framing and individual scenes. Lots of shots of the seven band mates standing in a perfect line with their instruments at their feet. No matter how many times this is shown, I think it elicits a smile from everyone. There are also several moment...( read more)s where the director just steps back from the action as if to say to the audience, "hey, let's just look at this for a second." One scene in particular is about a seven minute shot of three of the younger characters at a roller rink in which a more experienced young man is showing another how to woo and comfort a young lady. It looks nice and above all, feels nice, in a relatable and touching way.
  
  The standout of the film though is easily with the two leads who have very memorable parts and likely the most touching bit of story line. Dina and Tawfiq (the cafe owner and the band's conductor) are the two who seem most unlikely to end up together, yet ulitmately seem to have the most in common and that revelation is slowly revealed to us throughout the course of the evening as they head out on a somewhat unconventional date. Their discussion and interaction is both awkward but touching - with a hint of sadness and lonliness. Both leads remind me of two other foreign actors to make themselves quite big stars in recent years: Monica Bellucci and Armin Mueller-Stahl. I hope to see both these actors from The Band's Visit in more upcoming roles that are more geared towards western audiences, as I think they could have bright futures.
  
  The Band's Visit is quite the enjoyable film once it strays from trying too hard to be quirky and cute and goes for the gold with human relations and character development in a different and difficult setting. I'm not saying the film isn't humorous in places; it just isn't the knee-slapper that my particular audience found it to be. But it is quite the enjoyable motion picture and inadvertantly explains to us again why the art of the independent film maker is most often much stronger than those with the big budgets and studio.

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  November 4, 2007

  EarthlyAlien

  Winner of the Certain Regard award at this year's Cannes, The Band's Visit is one of those films that transpires simplicity and unpretentiousness. A simple story, a story about people for a change, turned into a lovely 'little' film by a young and dreamful filmmaker - Era...( read more)n Kolirin.
  
  
  
  A small Egyptian band - The Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra - arrives in Israel as part of a larger mission, a cultural goodwill exchange. They are to play at the opening of an Arab Cultural Center. Dressed in full regalia and observing all military police protocol, the proud little group arrives at the airport with no formal nor informal reception or greeters and with no connection to their country's diplomats.
  
  Stranded on a foreign country, struggling to communicate and unable to contact their Israeli hosts or the Egyptian consulate for help, they try to keep the excursion going, led by their stoic head officer/conductor Tewfiq, but every step they take seems to be in the wrong way and they end up in a small forgotten Israeli town in the middle of the desert. With no transport out of town until the next day, they meet Dina, a nice, open-minded restaurant owner and her two odd employees who offer them lunch and accomodation for the night. Unexpected connections and friendships develop as well as cultural and personality differences emerge...
  
  The Band's Visit is simply a joy to watch. With tons of smart, pushing dark humor - some scenes are absolutely hilarious - and with a slight political tone, Eran Kolirin's debut film deserves every single praise it got and more. A highly relevant film that reminds us that despite political animosity and ideological differences, once thrown together, human beings of different races and nations can communicate and understand each other, even when they don't share the same language. Kolirin gets that message across with pure grace and good humor, which is never easy to accomplish. Great performances by the entire cast, stunning cinematography and exuberant score. A gem!

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  November 24, 2009

  magnolia12883

  Eran Kolirin's winsome fable is a warm, quietly charming human comedy which remembers with great clarity and attention to detail, a time not so long ago when a group of men from one culture spent a night with members of another culture and found commonalities between them. Lieute...( read more)nant-colonel Tawfiq Zacharya (Sasson Gabai) is the hard-nosed, dour and serious conductor of the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, which has traveled from Egypt to perform a special concert at the opening of the new Arab Cultural Center, only to wind up stranded in a similarly-named, small desert town somewhere in Israel. The band leader, along with a tall ladies' man named Haled (Saleh Bakri), is invited to sleep at a diner owned by the dark, beautiful Dina (Ronit Elkabetz). The rest of the band are taken in at a small, nearby apartment occupied by Dina's associate. Throughout the night, time will pass, conversations will lead to careful observations and surprising discoveries of similarities between the Israelis and the Egyptians, and Dina and Tewfiq will find more in common than perhaps any of them. These two are slogging through middle age, with the old, widowed Tewfiq's life starting to wind down, grounded by years of conformity to discipline and order, and Dina's life just coasting by, never quite living up to any sort of expectations. The landscape around them and writer-director Eran Kolirin's easy-going pacing reflect the "seriousness" of the story; there is no action here, no big laughs, no grand dramatic payoffs, no great points to be made. The film never forces itself. What we get instead is a gently funny and surprisingly moving portrait of how two "enemies" (neither of whom would harm a fly) came together for one night and got along. There's something beautiful and endearing about it. This is one of the year's best films.
  
  
  
  
  
  NOTE: The film was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards.

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  October 18, 2009

  rajiv23gooners

  a BEAUTIFUL film.,
  this is, for me, different than any other middle east film that i have seen., most of them did not really paid attention to the technical things of the film, but this one is a very accomplished film technically, it has a beautiful score, beautifully structured,...( read more) has some classic scenes, and took a bit of 'hollywood formula' but elegantly executed.,
  despite the whole technical things, this movie did not ignoring their roots which is the humanity subject and the charm a la middle east.,
  one thing for sure, Eran Kolirin (the director) is a name to watch out for..

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  October 16, 2009

  Nenebelle

  Recommended by Liesebieke.

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  October 16, 2009

  Liesebieke

  A handful of Egyptian musicians - members of a police orchestra - visit Israel to give a concert but arriving at the airport nobody is waiting for them and they get lost. This colourful story is told with a lot of humour and equally much drama. A beautiful story which shines in i...( read more)ts simplicity.
  Not exactly an Oscar winner, maybe a bit slow, but certainly worth watching, even though if it were with the aim to escape for a while from Hollywood.

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  August 28, 2009

  Paris2Australia

  very charming and heartwarming film. beautifully made.

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