Ronit Elkabetz and Sasson Gabai in The Band's Visit
The victory march
(Video) The Band's Visit recounts the story of a small, Egyptian police band that accidentally arrives at a remote Israeli town on its way to performing a concert in Israel. It unexpectedly encounters tensions and friendships with the townspeople who take them in for the night
VIDEO - Don't miss Eran Kolirin's enchanting movie, which delicately tells the story of an encounter between the residents of a remote development town and the members of an Egyptian band who arrived there by mistake. Sasson Gabai warmly and accurately portrays the character of the Egyptian police band's director, who no one greeted upon arrival at the airport. The band was supposed to arrive at Petach Tikva, however due to a mispronunciation they get on a bus that takes them to the remote town of Beit Hatikva.
Gradually, despite differences in language and culture, a relationship develops between the members of the band and their hosts.
Thank God no one talks politics in this movie. How easy it would have been to slip into such a debate. Kolirin's heartwarming scenes are directed modestly, as he sketches small, life-loving caricatures with a superb sense of humor. In portraying the desolate life in the remote Israeli town, there is much of the comedy of Jaques Tati and Milos Foreman, and in formulating the characters there's a lot of the reserved humor of Chekhov's plays.
Kolirin's movie doesn't only delve into the lives of the band members who express themselves musically. The Band's Visit is in itself a musical work of art. Every shot, each composition, each gesture by every actor is organized in a script which is written like a perfect musical partitura. Kolirin's cinematic achievement lies in his virtuosi cability to conduct the work he compiled. This includes the internal tempo of the short dialogs, and the quiet moments between them. There is no room for doubt. The silences in Kolirin's movie are golden.
