The Band's Visit

2/29/08

The Band's Visit
Written and directed by Eran Kolirin

There's a lovely Israeli film working its way into theaters across the country. It's called The Band's Visit. An Egyptian police band on a cultural tour of Israel gets lost, and accidentally ends up in a little town in the middle of nowhere, with no way to get out until the next day. This is the story of how the Israeli townspeople, although wary, extend them hospitality for the night. There's not a lot of plot, but there's a lot going on. The film is sweet and melancholy and beautifully shot, with images that will really stick in your mind. Eran Kolirin is a first-time writer-director whose previous experience is in TV. He's definitely got the goods for film. One strange factoid about The Band's Visit--it wasn't eligible for the Oscar for foreign language film because the characters spend a lot of time speaking English (with varying degrees of success). It makes perfect sense--it was the only language the characters had in common. This is just more proof that the Oscar people are nuts.

TVOR has said enough. Check it out.

Video notes:

And while we're talking about Israeli films, here are a few TVOR likes that are available on video--

Campfire--a recent widow decides to move to the West Bank in 1981 with her two teenage daughters.
Broken Wings--another widow (this time with four children) tries to cope after the death of her husband.
Syrian Bride--a Druze woman living in the Golan Heights prepares to marry a man from Syria, for which she must cross the border, never to return.

Here are three by Eytan Fox:
Walk on Water--an Israeli intelligence officer tries to get close to a Nazi war criminal.
The Bubble--a group of young people in Tel Aviv, including gays, straights, Jews and Arabs.
Yossi & Jagger--gay Israeli soldiers.

And two by Dan Verete:
Yellow Asphalt--three short stories about bedouins.
Metallic Blues--Israeli guys go to Germany to sell a car.