Review of The Band's Visit (2007) by Raj D — 18 Mar 2008

I had read quite good reviews in weekly local English Amsterdam newspaper about the movie. In the company of one of my office colleagues ? Laura, I decided to go and see this movie.

The story is about a music band from Egypt who arrives in Israel. Nobody picks them up from the airport and they loose their way, ending up in a outstriks of remote small Israel towns. The bandleader Tawfiq (Sasson Gabai) arranges for the band to stay overnight at a small restaurant owned by a woman ? Dina (Ronit Elkabetz). The tribulation of this one-day stay at this place presents varied range of characters, emotions, love, sex, relationships, cultures, etc. Next day the band leaves the place to go and perform their music.

This is a poignant small movie written and directed by the first time young Israel TV director Eran Kolirin, who grew up watching Arabian TV. For inspiring young amateurs this movie is a good example of how to make a low budget, simple movie with great script, direction, cinematography, use of music, pauses of silences, and above all great acting by the entire crew.

Sasson Gabai ? an Israel actor plays this character of Egyptian with such ease that it is incredible to see the nauces of his facial, eye and body movements. Similarly Ronit Elkabetz provides the lonely love seeking woman who has this lost child like energy, honesty and freedom ? with great ease. The combination of their chemistry as Director Eran puts it works like fire and water.

Other actors in the band provide enough relief and depth to the narrative. Most scenes are well written and executed. Worth remembering scenes are the ones when the flirting band member Haled (Saleh Bakri) initiates another boy into a love relationship in the skating stadium; another one is the dialogue about the ending ? right now, within the room, light bulb and aloneliness, the third one is between the two protagonist when they sit on a bench and open up their selves to each other, fourth one is when Tawfiq gets up in the night to find Haled and Dina making love.

At the end of the movie our heart goes out for the couple ? Tawfig and Dina - who say and convey so much love and respect towards each other, yet unable to convert that into a life long bonding. But that is life ? is not it?

The pace of the movie is slow ? but never felt that way because it is so engaging. The music by Habib Shadah is finely placed and excellent tunes.

No surprise that this first feature film has won nearly 28 awards ? swept all the best awards in Israel; sadly was rejected in Oscar as best foreign film because of many English dialogues. But Oscars is not the beginning or end of anything. And this is a movie that without Oscars wins hearts worldwide because of its humanistic theme and plot. Kudos!

(Stars 8 out of 10).