written and directed by Israeli filmmaker Eran Kolirin (DVD Band’s)
Having seen the touring company production of the stage musical The Band’s Visit at the Lied Center back in April 2022, I was curious to see the original 2007 Israeli film that served as the source material for the musical. I was not disappointed.
The Band’s Visit tells the story of
when the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, from Alexandria, Egypt, ends
up mistakenly stranded in the tiny Israeli desert town of Beit Hatikva, instead
of the much larger city of Petah Tiqva, where they were scheduled to perform.
Without a place to stay for the night, locals led by diner owner Dina take pity
on the band’s members and agree to provide them with housing for the night,
until they can catch the bus out of Beit Hatikva the next day. The events of
that evening make up the bulk of this film — as different combinations of band
members and locals end up pairing off for life-altering conversations and
experiences.
Sasson Gabay is mesmerizing as the
Lt. Col Tawfiq Zacharya, the proud, principled leader of the Band. His
expressive face is filled with so many conflicting emotions — he was truly a
wonder to watch. Ronit Elkabetz gives a brash yet vulnerable performance as
Dina, the diner owner trapped in a small world. Khalifa Natour as Simon, the
clarinet player and assistant conductor of the Band gives a very sensitive
performance — his wordless scene as he realizes how he can complete composing
his clarinet concerto is some superb acting.
All in all, The Band’s Visit is a powerful
little film. Though much of it is in English, there is still some subtitling
for some of the lines spoken only in the native Egyptian and Israeli tongues.
As a huge fan of the stage musical version, I’ll have to admit that wish that
there was a little more actual music in this original film, but it was
wonderful seeing the inspiration for so many of the musicals pensive and
soaring tunes.
Highly recommended!
(If you enjoy this, the stage
musical adapted from this movie was spectacular, and featured a marvelous
soundtrack, which we have in the libraries’ collection: The Band’s Visit.)
( Internet Movie
Database entry for this film )
Recommended
by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service
Have you watched this one?
What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?
New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment