Film Review: The Band’s Visit

 The Band’s Visit (2007) Written and directed by Eran Kolirin. Starring Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz and Saleh Bashri. (in Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles)

Lost in the Desert

In this disarming and tender Israeli film, an Egyptian orchestra on it’s way to a playing engagement at an Arab Cultural Center in northern Israel, loses its way and finds itself in a tiny  town in the southern  desert with nary an Arab to be found.  The eight men who make up the band, dressed in their sky blue band uniforms, make an awkward picture as they tow their suitcases and instruments on wheels, searching for a bus, food or for someone to point them in the right direction.  Unfortunately they have stumbled upon the dusty forlorn town of Bet Hatikva when they were headed for Petah Tikvah. Anyone could make that mistake, right? Anyone, that is, who doesn’t speak Hebrew.

Lonely,Proud and Trying to Connect

 This is a quiet film that moves at an unhurried pace as we watch the shy strangers try to find a bed for the night. They begin to connect , somewhat uneasily at first, with the bored and lonely Israelis of this isolated town.  The owner of a cafe, Dina, (Ronit Elkabetz) offers them food, a place to stay and most of all, conversation and connection.  Beds are found for everyone in the band. As the band members do not speak Hebrew and the town residents do not speak Arabic, most of the exchanges take place in English.  Food is a universal connector.

The Ice Thaws

Slowly, the ice between these unlikely companions begins to thaw. The fires that cause this melting are the most elemental of forces: the electric attractions between men and women, the desire to be touched and held and the wonder of watching a baby sleep.  What makes people feel fully alive? What makes life worth living? These are the themes this film begins to touch on. One language begins to bring these strangers together—music. 

Elemental Joys

You will not soon forget the scene of Tewfiq, the band’s leader, describing what thrills him most in life to Dina. He tells her it is when he leads the band and shows her by raising his hands to lead the band. You watch as he is illuminated with joy.  Another character, Haled, asks several times, “Do you like Chet Baker?” until he gets an affirmative response. And when he does he plays an evocative solo on his trumpet of My Funny Valentine.  You may find yourself weeping.

Dina tells Tewfiq how she used to watch Egyptian movies when she was a child and  the crush she had on Omar Sharif.  “We could live like this again!” she says enthusiastically. But of course, although it has been thirty years since a peace treaty was signed between Israel and Egypt, Arabs and Israelis do not yet live peacefully together.

What Kind of World Do We Want to Live In?

When I began this blog, I started with the question, “What kind of world do you want your children and grandchildren to live in?” For us to have a peaceful world we must, I believe, envision that world intimately and we must insist that we have it.  The Band’s Visit paints a picture of a world worth living in, filled with the joys of being human, a world where people live together in spite of differences, celebrating the glorious ways in which we are all the same.

Go see it.