The Band's Visit (2007)
98 %
Reviews Counted: 107 Fresh: 105 Rotten:2 Average Rating: 7.9/10
Consensus:
The Band's Visit is both a clever, subtle slice-of-life comedy, and poignant cross-cultural exploration.
Runtime: 89 mins
Theatrical Release: Feb 8, 2008 Limited
Box Office: $3,002,385
Synopsis: Israeli filmmaker Eran Kolirin's debut feature, THE BAND'S VISIT, is a subtle, heartfelt, and humane work that goes a long way toward dissolving the incredibly complex cultural divide that continues to plague the Middle East. When the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra flies from... [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, Saleh Bakri, Khalifa Natour
Director: Eran Kolirin
Screenwriter: Eran Kolirin
Producer: Eilon Ratzkovsky, Ehud Bleiberg, Yossi Uzrad, Koby Gal-Raday, Guy Jacoel
Composer: Habib Shehadeh Hanna
Screenwriter: Eran Kolirin
Producer: Eilon Ratzkovsky, Ehud Bleiberg, Yossi Uzrad, Koby Gal-Raday, Guy Jacoel
Composer: Habib Shehadeh Hanna
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
One of the film's prime strengths is its wordless willingness to let the principal characters express themselves through music and mime to overcome cultural barriers. [DVD]
Comment
07/30/08
This foreign film is a sweet, lower-than-low-key story of an Egyptian police band that arrives in the wrong Israeli town.
07/22/08
Those who like their comedy, romance, and tragedy in quiet doses should enjoy this textured story.
07/19/08
There are no major plot points or dramatic arcs in The Band's Visit, but through its awkward pauses, there's plenty of nuance and wry humour.
06/18/08
A film of exquisite charm, beauty, humor and humanity -- with some of the best performances you're likely to encounter in some considerable time.
04/16/08
The Band’s Visit is a charming little drama that skirts sentimentality and manages to be a feel-good film without necessarily feeling very good.
04/15/08
Top Critic
The 34-year-old Israeli director Eran Kolirin's debut feature is a good one.
04/12/08
Like no fish-out-of-water film in recent memory, it leaves you with the hope that these fish will find their way back to water, and maybe learn to share that puddle before the desert dries it up entirely.
04/11/08
...there's hardly a moment in this delightful movie that doesn't ring with authentic human feeling.
04/04/08
The formality and the deliberate pace suggest the influence of Laurel and Hardy and Jacques Tati...
03/31/08
Despite the cultural divide between Arabs and Israelis, subtract politics from the mix and their shared humanity shines through in Eran Kolirin's gentle film.
03/27/08
Arab-Israeli relations get the warm fuzzy treatment in The Band’s Visit, a wonderfully appealing Israeli film that should have been up for a foreign-language Oscar.
03/21/08
Perhaps the band members have seen the movies she so loves, and in her eyes, imagine themselves as next generational approximations of Omar Sharif.
03/21/08
We see bittersweet and beautiful emotions running throughout the film. These are spread from the small victories in human connection to the shared passion that the language of music conjures up.
03/18/08
It's beautiful and gentle and warm and a little silly, but in the best possible way...
03/18/08
It'll be a long time before the image fades of members of the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra in their powder-blue regalia lining up formally as they struggle to maintain their dignity.
03/18/08
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