So this Egyptian police band walks into a remote Israeli town.
After strong showings at every major film festival over the past six months, The Band's Visit finally opens in Philadelphia on Friday. It tells the story of an Egyptian police band that travels to Israel to play at the opening of an Arab Cultural Center. Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication, the band ends up in a remote Israeli town with no Arab Cultural Center and "no culture at all," as one local puts it. The band spends the night in the town, and the film follows the interactions between a few members of the band and the local Israelis.
The heart of the film lies not in the story, however, but in the relationships and interactions between the Egyptians and the Israelis. In the context of the continuing turmoil in the Middle East, The Band's Visit portrays a clash of civilizations resulting not in violence, but instead in pure awkwardness. In fact, the movie largely ignores any underlying political issues one would expect to emerge from a film about Arabs accidentally ending up in Jewish territory, thus allowing the audience to focus on the characters and not on external political factors.
Director Eran Kolirin uses a deadpan style of comedy that plays well off the tension and uneasiness created by the new arrivals. One particularly memorable scene occurs when three band members eat dinner with an Israeli family in periods of total silence until they all begin to sing an off-key rendition of "Summertime."
Ultimately the film is about total strangers coming together, giving deep insights into certain characters and grabbing the emotions of the audience, albeit in a lighthearted way. While the film is unlikely to pacify the Middle East, the viewer will at least walk out with a slightly more positive outlook on life.
