Review of The Band's Visit (2007) by Robbie M — 15 Apr 2008

[i]The Band's Visit.

[/i]dir. Eran Kolirin.

Starring Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, Saleh Bakri, and Khalifa Natour.

This film explores the nature of extended horizons and infinite isolation through the eyes of its central characters. The Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arrives from Egypt to play at the Arab Culture Center in Petah Tiqva, Israel. However, due to a miscommunication they get off their bus in Beit Hatikva, a desert town that doesn't even feature a hotel. They stop off at a restaurant owned by Dina (Elkabetz), and the initial meeting is awkward. Lieutenant-colonel Tawfiq Zacharya (Sasson) is the leader of the orchestra and the highest ranking police official. Sasson plays his character as decidedly stiff, unsure about his new environs. There is a terrible melancholy about his eyes that is reflected in the vast landscape that seems impossibly unrelenting and physically oppressive. Dina offers the band food and then decides to make accommodations for them to stay the night with her and her friends. Every situation initially is awkward and pained; these strangers don't quite know how to relate to one another. Gradually, however, the tension abates and they all find a space of comfort from which to regulate themselves.

Elkabetz is a joy to watch performing even rudimentary tasks such as pouring wine, cutting up a watermelon, etc. Dina possesses in this film an eerie sadness that has penetrated her to the core. She is longing for something to be different, to perhaps be the way it once was when as a girl she used to watch Egyptian movies one night a week on television. She also says that the streets were empty during this time because everyone was at home watching. They would all hurry home to watch the films of their idol, Omar Sharif, and damn the pressures extant between Israeli and Arab, fighting over strips of land and treasured ideologies. This film doesn't investigate political realities as much as tell a simple story about the quietness inherent in all human interaction. These are lovely scenes that reflect a brave appreciation for the ways we communicate and how much we lose in each transmission. This is a film about differences that doesn't exploit any pat formula to make a grand statement about how differences are merely superficial and at the heart of it we are more alike. It doesn't have to. It merely creates an open space so that its characters can maneuver their way around obstacles that only they can see.

Longing and need are played with extensively in this film. The band needs to get to a particular place at a particular time and this necessity informs every scene of the film. Yet, they are forced to adhere to a different structure in which they are not the vaunted Police band but merely men. As they line up in their powder blue uniforms at the beginning of the film, one gains a firm grasp on the ceremonial aspect of the band's name and their mission. They are upholding a rich musical tradition and their work is deadly serious. Yet we also witness the physical manifestation of their crushed spirits as they drag their suitcases through the desert toward an unknown destination. The pride of the orchestra is at stake, and the cruelty of fate has led this terrible proud band into dangerous territory where their uniform isn't shown the same amount of respect they are used to back home. Yet, it's difficult to remain static when suddenly confronted with a live wire such as Dina. One can sense Tahfiq's interest developing slowly over the course of the film and Dina plays with his emotions throughout. Sitting about the table in Dina's home with Haled (Bakri), Dina and Tahfiq play a distancing game. It isn't clear what feelings he is allowing himself to entertain; by shuffling off to bed to leave the others alone together he seems to be saying either he'd rather not see it through or he doesn't want to face up to the reality of his humiliation. Either way, it's a thorny moment in a film consumed with them.

Overall, this is a film that is both exceedingly funny and terribly moving. Like [i]Paris, Texas, [/i]the open spaces speak to the severity of human interaction and how difficult it is to connect to something outside yourself. The journey leads the band through territory they would never had an opportunity to engage with had everything gone perfectly according to plan. Although their experiences with Dina and her friends do not bring any succinct moments of realization, they do allow the band the opportunity to enjoy the company of Israeli peoples in a private setting. Ultimately, it is the heaviness of the desert heat and the limited opportunities for social interaction that haunt this film and provide its gravity. It's the ludicrous nature of human interaction that supplies its comedy. Together, they form a well-crafted, intelligent film that speaks to every aspect of the heart with clarity and a dedication to understanding as much might be possible, given the circumstances.