Review of The Band's Visit (2007) by Sezai Y — 01 Jan 2009

I'm looking forward to more films from Eran Kollrin.

This one starts as a "fish out of water" story but quickly evolves into powerful character studies where stereotypes are broken and a drama about the human condition emerges; not bound by politics, language or religion.

It's an achievement to find a quiet piece of Israel and make it look desolate, stark and remote. The movie is not really about the music although it shares Kollrin's appreciation of Arabic language, poetry and music.

The restaurant owner Dina welcomes the band to stay the night in the town mostly to inject some potential excitement and fresh faces into her life, or just to have someone to talk with. From there we find boredom, regret, love, sex and compassion in the story. The film's style is similar to UK independent film - slice of life, ensemble throwback dramas in small villages as opposed to urban, contemporary alienation.