Review of The Band's Visit

Arab and Jewish Culture Meet in this Award-winning Israeli Comedy

Jun 22, 2009

On a visit to Israel, an Egyptian police orchestra ends up in the wrong town and is forced to seek the help of local residents, with funny and touching consequences.

In his debut feature film, Israeli director Eran Kolirin tells a touching and often gently humorous story about relationships across cultural divides, without once referring to the Arab/Israeli conflict.

The Band’s Visit (2007)is predominantly set in a dusty, middle-of-nowhere town in the south of Israel. Nothing much happens here, so the arrival of eight instrument-bearing Egyptians in matching powder-blue uniforms does not go unnoticed.

The Egyptians, who are members of the Alexandria Police Orchestra, are visiting Israel to perform at the opening of an Arab cultural center. On arrival at the airport, however, there was no one to pick them up. Unable to get in touch with the Egyptian embassy or anyone else who can help them, Tewfiq, the band’s rather earnest leader (Sasson Gabai), decides they will catch the bus to their destination. He sends Khaled (Saleh Bakri), a smooth-talking ladies’ man, to find out the details.

Khaled’s limited English, and the fact that he is more interested in flirting with the girl behind the information desk than getting bus timetables, means they end up in the wrong town, with no possibility of leaving again that day. Hungry and running out of Israeli money, they are forced to ask three local residents for food and accommodation: Papi, an insecure young man who has his first date that evening, Iztzik, who is having marriage trouble, and Dina (Ronit Elkabetz), the sensual, self-sufficient but lonely café owner.

During the course of the evening, relationships unravel as new ones are formed. When the band leaves the next morning, all the characters have learned something about themselves and each other, despite the language barrier.

Subtle Acting, Gentle Comedy

The strength of The Band’s Visit lies in its narrow scope: it is set over the course of one day and predominantly in one location. This creates the time and space to develop the characters and examine them from several angles. There is little in the way of action, and the dialogue is often halting, with the result that facial expressions and small gestures become amplified.

The differences between the Arabs and Israelis provide the hook on which to hang much of the movie’s gentle comedy, but the story is ultimately about the character’s similarities rather than their differences.

As a result, Khaled does not need any Hebrew to guide Papi through his date, in a wonderfully surreal scene at a roller disco; and Dina and Tewfiq, despite their differences in age, temperament and background, understand each other’s loss and longing.

Running through the whole movie is the theme of music. This is hardly surprising given the plot, but it also acts as a device to bring the characters together, such as Iztzik and his guests singing Summertime around the dinner table or Tewfiq showing Dina how to conduct on a park bench.

Award-winning Movie

Kolirin said in an interview that he had never expected The Band’s Visit to have such mass appeal, but the simple story appears to have struck a chord. After winning multiple awards in Israel, the movie went on to garner praise and prizes at a number of international festivals, including Best Film at the Sarajevo Film Festival and Un Certain Regard at Cannes, France.

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