contemporary world cinema for salmon arm and kelowna |
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The Band's Visit
Country: Israel/France
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Audience Choice Award: Munich, Warsaw & Sarajevo Film Festivals 2007 The Band’s Visit is an inspiring story of cross-cultural rapprochement and reconciliation set in the most unlikely of locales. A small uniformed Egyptian police band becomes lost in rural Israel on their way to performing at a concert. They unexpectedly encounter, not only tensions and friendships with the townspeople who take them in for the night, but valuable lessons as well. Invited to perform at the opening of an Israeli cultural centre, the immaculately-pressed Alexandria Ceremonial Police Band arrive at the airport only to find that their hosts are nowhere in sight. Their Plan B is to take a bus, but they accidentally head in the wrong direction, led by conductor Tewfiq (Sasson Gabai). Stranded in a tiny Israeli desert town, they reluctantly decide to stay the night until the next bus arrives in the morning. Tewfiq and the fetching Haled (Saleh Bakri) stay with the self-assured and witty café proprietress, Dina (Ronit Elkabetz), whose casual sensuality can’t help but challenge the men’s ideas about womanhood. Through the connections they forge, the band members and the villagers find their cultural assumptions shaken. The Band’s Visit is good-natured and warm while avoiding sentimentality. Kolirin, in his debut feature, elicits wonderful performances from his ensemble cast in this meticulously observed and understated comedy. … a warm and delightful take on cross-cultural relations that proves that sometimes a light touch is just what's needed to address serious topics. – Jay Weissberg, Variety
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