The Band's Visit
starring: Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, Saleh Bakri, Khalifa Natour, Shlomi Avraham
directed by: Eran Kolirin
directed by: Eran Kolirin
List Price: $28.96
Prices subject to change.
Price: $20.49
You Save: $8.47 (29%)Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Product 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)
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)
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
Browse for similar items by category:
- VHS » DVD » Genres » Art House & International » General
- VHS » DVD » Genres » Art House & International » By Country » France » Comedy
- VHS » DVD » Genres » Art House & International » By Country » France » General
- VHS » DVD » Genres » Art House & International » By Country » France » General AAS
- VHS » DVD » Genres » Comedy » General
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- ON THE ROAD TO SOMEWHERE I FOUND NOWHERE!
An Egyptian police band from Alexandria travels to Israel to perform at the grand opening of an Arab Cultural Center in a small town. Somehow their connections get mixed up and they end up stranded in the middle of nowhere in Israel. The picture of the eight of them in their formal powder blue uniforms against the stark desert landscape says it all. They're lost. What happens next is not a summit meeting that will solve all the Israeli-Palestinian issues but it does show how, as human beings, we ... Read More
Rating: 
- Bridging People Art
I had heard of this movie a couple of weeks before terrorists provoked a next military outbreak in the Middle East, a Second Lebanon War, and wanted to watch it definitely.
A lyric comedy of Egyptian policemen found themself in a strange environment of a semi-hostile country, surviving on mercy of ordinary Israeli-Jewish generosity, having in common with the Jews much more than, according to media, mullahs and politicians round a world assert.
Perhaps, pro-Western female ... Read More
Rating: - The Band's Visit
It was a good purchase. It was cheap, and it came a couple of days before I was expecting it to, so that was nice.
Rating: - Rave,,MUST SEE,
Deeply touching on many levels,,,,It's a beautiful little movie with a BIG heart. The performances are the best you will ever see. The Music is a JOY. You can watch this GEM of a MOVIE MANY TIMES,,,,it is that good ...
Rating: - This Film is a Gem!
I loved this movie.It is a true gem.
The story is about an Egyptian Police Band that is supposed to do a performance at the opening of a new Egyptian Cultural Center in Israel.One of the band's members asks for directions to the city and mispronounces the Hebrew word for the town.Thus, the misadventures start.
The band ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere.It is certainly not a place of any culture says the woman who runs the restaurant where their bus lets ... Read More
- ON THE ROAD TO SOMEWHERE I FOUND NOWHERE!An Egyptian police band from Alexandria travels to Israel to perform at the grand opening of an Arab Cultural Center in a small town. Somehow their connections get mixed up and they end up stranded in the middle of nowhere in Israel. The picture of the eight of them in their formal powder blue uniforms against the stark desert landscape says it all. They're lost. What happens next is not a summit meeting that will solve all the Israeli-Palestinian issues but it does show how, as human beings, we ... Read More
- Bridging People ArtI had heard of this movie a couple of weeks before terrorists provoked a next military outbreak in the Middle East, a Second Lebanon War, and wanted to watch it definitely.
A lyric comedy of Egyptian policemen found themself in a strange environment of a semi-hostile country, surviving on mercy of ordinary Israeli-Jewish generosity, having in common with the Jews much more than, according to media, mullahs and politicians round a world assert.
Perhaps, pro-Western female ... Read More
- The Band's VisitIt was a good purchase. It was cheap, and it came a couple of days before I was expecting it to, so that was nice.
- Rave,,MUST SEE,Deeply touching on many levels,,,,It's a beautiful little movie with a BIG heart. The performances are the best you will ever see. The Music is a JOY. You can watch this GEM of a MOVIE MANY TIMES,,,,it is that good ...
- This Film is a Gem!I loved this movie.It is a true gem.
The story is about an Egyptian Police Band that is supposed to do a performance at the opening of a new Egyptian Cultural Center in Israel.One of the band's members asks for directions to the city and mispronounces the Hebrew word for the town.Thus, the misadventures start.
The band ends up in a small town in the middle of nowhere.It is certainly not a place of any culture says the woman who runs the restaurant where their bus lets ... Read More
