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The Band's Visit
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As 2008 comes to a close those who write about movies are probably already putting together the movies they think are the best and worst of this year. As interesting as these articles are to read; most will write about the same movies and like or dislike it for very similar reasons. Starting now and until the close of 2008 I’d like to bring to reader’s attention several movies that played this year, but never got that much attention.
Eran Kolirin’s movie The Band’s Visit was completed in 2007, but didn’t get a limited theatrical release till this year; I saw it at the Angelika. The main premise of the movie is about an Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra that travels from Egypt to Israel to perform at an Arab cultural center, but because of some miscommunication the band ends up in a town located in the middle of nowhere.
Each of the eight band members has their own adventure while they wait for the right bus to take them to their correct destination, but the characters that are the most interesting to watch are Tewfiq, the bandleader, and Dina, a woman who feeds and goes out of her way to find each of the band members a place to stay while they wait for the next bus out of town.
Watching the movie you can feel the weariness of the characters. Tewfiq is a strict disciplinarian when it comes to his band, but when he goes out on the town with Dina you see a very reserved man still dealing with some very deep emotional pain. Although Tewfiq and Dina like each other they don’t physically consummate their relationship. Instead they share a lot of sighs and glances at each other; regret is something that they both share.
The Band’s Visit was supposed to be Israel’s official entry for the 2008 Academy Awards, but was disqualified because a majority of the dialogue in the movie is English. As you watch the movie though you will quickly realize that the characters speak not just in a verbal language; but also through body language. The movie has been available on DVD for several months now.
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