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.

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Seattle, this very nice city in the beautiful scenic Northwest, is still reeling from a rampage murder last weekend, when a 28 year old man killed 6 young people relaxing after attending a rave party the night before. No one knew the man. He seemed innocuous, although some mentioned he had a bad vibe. He was a big man, a quiet man. He attended the rave, was invited to the house party, came, smoked some dope, drank a bit, and then at 7 o’clock in the morning on this quiet, residential street went out to his truck, got an arsenal of weapons and came back into the house and started shooting. He was reported to have a smile of his face and to have said, “There’s plenty for everyone,” before killing himself as a police officer arrived on the scene.The aftermath of this senseless killing has left people groping for something to make the insanity of it go away.

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