Others say...

"What you feel will be more than what you see"
Good writing, it has been argued, demands a keen sense of what to leave out. This remarkable film excels in its choice of what to omit.

Never before in viewing a film have I so strongly felt the presence of matters off-screen. This film, I believe, is nothing less than a profound fable about the whole of relations between the Arab and Israeli worlds. Remarkably what triumphs here is the humanity of each culture. Each is heroic; each is humane.

Sadly, there is never peacefulness, just tension never resolved; sadly, there is never triumph, just accomodation. There is an aching sadness throughout the film--there has been loss; there still is loss, there will always be loss. Throughout the film--especially in the silent moments (where I swear you hear the voices of Jewish and Muslim dead) and especially in the memorable shots of empty landscapes and ruminative shots of main characters--which never seem to fully fill the camera frame (where I swear you see the ghosts of Arab and Israeli dead)--there is the weight of a ruinous past, a troubled present, an unresolved future.

May G-d bless; Inshallah



"Sad movie"
This movie has an interesting premise, but leaves you wanting more. Almost all of the Egyptian band members act very reserved and depressed during the movie. They rarely smile, say much or do anything. It seems like this movie has a lot of potential for friednships to form, but it ends up seeming like an inconsequential visit. The movie is worth checking out, but in my opinion it ends up being less than advertised.

"Lost and Found"
Like the utterly different Paradise Now, The Band's Visit finds the complex humans behind the popular dichotomies of the Middle East. A budget-pressed Egyptian police band, still resplendent in their (as one character says) "Michael Jackson" uniforms arrives in Israel, is not met by their sponsors, takes travel matters into their own hands, and winds up lost and nearly without money in the most dreary desert town this side of Wristcutters: A Love Story. The band is hungry; its straitlaced director approaches the restaurant owner, Dina, and asks for food and the chance to pay with Egyptian money. She prepares a meal and, after telling them there is no hotel in town, invites them to stay in her home and that of her unemployed friend with marriage problems and a wife's birthday.

And so the bare desert stage is set for a singular night. Among the many quiet, amusing and lonely vignettes: the band director, Tewfiq, reveals his personal sadness to Dina in a concrete plaza as they listen to an imaginary sea; a band member unconsciously wipes out a glass as if in a dubious restaurant, except he's sitting at table with his Israeli hosts; and -- best of all -- the band's ladies man gives dating help in a roller rink to a painfully shy Israeli.

Day comes, the band moves on to its correct destination, and plays. Life returns to normal, but normal for the dozen characters in The Band's Visit has been forever, if only slightly, altered.



"and the band played on"
A delightful and reflective film, but not something for folks looking for lots of action. However, for those of you who intensely dislike subtitles, almost all the dialog is in English as it's the only language the Egyptians and Israelis share. A small Egyptian Police orchestra is sent to Israel on a cultural exchange program, but gets badly lost due to the differences between Arabic and Hebrew. The band director sends the youngest member of the group to the bus ticket booth, but he's too busy flirting with the pretty vendor to pay much attention to what she's actually saying. In Arabic the letter P doesn't exist, so Arabs usually say B instead as in Bebsi Cola. So instead of going to Petah Tikva, just outside of Tel Aviv, they wind up going to a small isolated desert town, Bet Hatikva where they quickly become stranded. Although both sides are immediately suspicious of each other, the townsfolk take them in and give them food and shelter for the night, and over time the two groups find they have more in common individually and culturally than either imagines. Every thing is low key, and while there's quite a bit of humor throughout, it's not really at anyone's expense. However, the scene where the young Egyptian coaches a young Israeli on how to approach a woman is a scream. Well worth watching.

"Invisible Politics"
"The Band's Visit"

Invisible Politics

Amos Lassen


The new Israeli film "The Band's Visit" has an interesting approach. It is a film about Arabs and Israelis without politics. Basically it is the story of an eight man Egyptian band that is stranded in an Israeli desert town overnight. The members of the band have no money and they are forced to depend upon the Israelis citizens to provide them with both and shelter. Israelis are by nature rough on the outside but tender within are the opposite of the polite and dignified, but broke, Egyptians. As the film explores the characters, we get a new and humorous look at Arab/Israeli relations. Nothing much happens aside from small exchanges between the two groups of people. The two groups also learn a great deal about each other during the band's visit. What they learn most is the definition of humanity.
Eran Kolirin wrote and directed this wonderful little film. There is not a lot of dialog because the two groups do not speak the same language and the fact that there is not much to talk about in the middle of the desert. One stellar performance, however, stands out--Ronit Elkabetz as Dina who has the quality of the citizens of the town Beit Hatikva down pat.
There are several wonderful scenes here that are not likely to be forgotten. To some the film may seem slow and low-key but after getting into the film there are lots of rewards. For one thing the theme of loneliness is beautifully handled. Everyone seems lonely for a different reason and some come to terms with it by embracing someone from a culture that they have been taught to hate.