Review of The Band's Visit (2007) by Alex S — 06 Jan 2009

Fish-out-of-water stories are usually perfect vehicles for comedic misunderstandings and someone ending up naked in the middle of the woods somewhere. Well, this one covers that first marker in a surprisingly heartfelt film where a troop belonging to the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra find themselves not at their gig but at a desolate restaurant in the Israeli desert.

And did I mention these eight dudes are wearing power blue suits that can be seen for miles against the brown and grays of their current location? It goes without saying that I want one of those suits but what may surprise viewers is how effective this film is in generating emotional responses through simple conversations and observations.

The film occurs in one 24-hour span but in that time, relationships are formed (both between band members and their boarders), hopes are realized (one of the town's residents has a particularly funny couple of scenes with a payphone) and "Sunny" is played at the local roller rink (honestly, the best scenes in the movie take place here).

No one in the film is perfect but everyone learns something. I think. The problem is you have eight guys in the band and the movie follows two of them with length. Yes, I'm criticizing for content that isn't even there to begin with but watch this and tell me you would not be okay with another 30 minutes, or so, added to the movie.