| |  | DVD : The Band's Visit |  | | | | | | | | | |
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Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Sony
EAN: 0043396238732
Label: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Region Code: 99
Release Date: July 29, 2008
Running Time: 87 minutes
Sales Rank: 5919
Studio: Sony Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
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Editorial Review:
Album Description:
This heartwarming and poignant winner of the Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard prize is the mesmerizing and witty story of strangers in a strange land. A fading Egyptian police band arrives in Israel to play at the Arab Cultural Center. When they take the wrong bus, the band members find themselves in a desolate Israeli village. With no other option than to spend the night with the local townspeople, the two distinctly different cultures realize the universal bonds of love, music and life. Set against a breathtaking desert landscape, this cross-cultural comedy proves that getting lost is sometimes the best way to find yourself.
Amazon.com:
Can movies change the world? In a word, no. But Israeli writer and director Eran Kolirin's utterly charming and engaging The Band's Visit suggests that if we could somehow put aside the politics and the religion, stifle the governments and the rhetoric, and mix in a little Gershwin, maybe even people with a history of cross-cultural suspicion and hostility really can get along. Not that the film has such pretensions--far from it. This is a simple tale involving a group of Egyptian musicians, the Alexandria Police Ceremonial Orchestra, who arrive in Israel for a concert. Things don't go well; there's no one to meet them at the airport, and they mistakenly end up in a small, drab desert town called Bet Hatikva, a place whose own residents refer to it as 'bloody nowhere.' But the people, especially café owner Dina (a marvelous performance by Ronit Elkabetz), are friendly and welcoming, and when they urge the band members to stay overnight before heading to their proper destination the next day, strait-laced leader Tewfiq (Sasson Gabai) finally relents. What follows is a series of plain but lovely scenes, as the Egyptians and Israelis (speaking English, their common language) tentatively search for common ground. Khaled (Saleh Bakri), the ladies man of the group ('Do you like Chet Baker?' is his favorite pick-up line), accompanies two young couples to a roller rink, where he comically helps the painfully timid Papi (Shlomi Avraham) connect with his date; meanwhile, the dignified but taciturn Tewfiq gradually warms to Dina's manifest charms, and the other musicians share a rousing chorus of 'Summertime' with their Israeli hosts. The Band's Visit is filled with moments of humor, tenderness, tension, sadness, regret, and, as one character puts it, 'tons of loneliness,' every one of them delivered without the slightest bit of pretension or manipulation (not to mention political or religious overtones). And when, at the end, we finally hear the Orchestra perform, we only wish we could spend more time with all of these delightful characters. --Sam Graham
Stills from The Band’s Visit (click for larger image)
Customer Reviews Average Rating: 
Rating:  - What you feel will be more than what you see
Good writing, it has been argued, demands a keen sense of what to leave out. This remarkable film excels in its choice of what to omit.
Never before in viewing a film have I so strongly felt the presence of matters off-screen. This film, I believe, is nothing less than aprofound fable about the whole of relations between the Arab and Israeli worlds. Remarkably what triumphs here is the humanity of each culture. Each is heroic; each is humane.
Sadly, there is never peacefulness, ... Read More
Rating: - Sad movie
This movie has an interesting premise, but leaves you wanting more. Almost all of the Egyptian band members act very reserved and depressed during the movie. They rarely smile, say much or do anything. It seems like this movie has a lot of potential for friednships to form, but it ends up seeming like an inconsequential visit. The movie is worth checking out, but in my opinion it ends up being less than advertised.
Rating: - Lost and Found
Like the utterly different Paradise Now, The Band's Visit finds the complex humans behind the popular dichotomies of the Middle East.A budget-pressed Egyptian police band, still resplendent in their (as one character says) "Michael Jackson" uniforms arrives in Israel, is not met by their sponsors, takes travel matters into their own hands, and winds up lost and nearly without money in the most dreary desert town this side of Wristcutters: A Love Story.The band is hungry; its straitlaced director approaches ... Read More
Rating: - and the band played on
A delightful and reflective film, but not something for folks looking for lots of action. However, for those of you who intensely dislike subtitles, almost all the dialog is in English as it's the only language the Egyptians and Israelis share. A small Egyptian Police orchestra is sent to Israel on a cultural exchange program, but gets badly lost due to the differences between Arabic and Hebrew. The band director sends the youngest member of the group to the bus ticket booth, but he's too busy flirting with the ... Read More
Rating: - Invisible Politics
"The Band's Visit"
Invisible Politics
Amos Lassen
The new Israeli film "The Band's Visit" has an interesting approach. It is a film about Arabs and Israelis without politics. Basically it is the story of an eight man Egyptian band that is stranded in an Israeli desert town overnight. The members of the band have no money and they are forced to depend upon the Israelis citizens to provide them with both and shelter. Israelis are by nature rough on the outside but tender ... Read More
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