Movie Review: "The Band's Visit"

This comedy centers around the plight of an Egyptian ceremonial band lost in a lost Israeli city. The Alexandria (Egypt) police band is engaged to play classical Arabic music at the opening of an Arabic cultural center in a West Bank city in Israel. On arrival in Israel, they are stranded and erroneously end up spending the night in a desolate dessert Israeli Jewish settlement.

Because the movie is in Hebrew, Arabic and English (with English subtitles), the dialogue is sparse, but pointed. The sharp and sometimes dry humor is almost entirely situational. An astounding degree of intimacy is developed between the Egyptian and Jewish characters through the cast’s superb acting skills with a bare bone minimum of dialogue. At one point the band’s leader is asked “Why does a police band need to play Arabic music?” The reply: “That’s like asking why a man needs a soul.” Exceptional performances are rendered by Sasson Gabai, who plays Tewfiq, the band’s maestro and Khalifa Natour, who plays Simon, the band’s second-in-command. All in all, it’s a blending of elements of “Little Miss Sunshine” and “The Russians are Coming!”