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The Band's Visit (4 stars)

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The Band's Visit

(12A) 87min

COMEDY/DRAMA

The band in question is the Alexandria Ceremonial Police group, which has come to Israel to perform at the opening of an Arab cultural centre in Petach Tivka, north-east of Tel Aviv. Unfortunately for them there’s no one to greet them at the airport, and, having caught the wrong bus, the Egyptian musicians find themselves stranded in a remote town where, as one local drily observes, ‘There is no culture at all.’

Out of this scenario, Israeli writer-director Eran Kolirin has, in his debut feature, fashioned a beautifully acted melancholic comedy, which should appeal to fans of Jarmusch and Kaurismaki. From the outset – the opening titles read ‘Once, not long ago’ – there’s a fairytale quality to The Band’s Visit, Kolirin steering clear of politics with a capital P. Instead he observes with generosity and understatement the various Arab and Israeli characters interacting on a personal level over the course of a surprising evening.

There’s a playfulness to the film’s mise-en-scene, evident in the deliberate compositions and the way the immaculate powder-blue uniforms of the band members are set against the arid environment. Between the film’s droll humour and the music, whether in the form of a dinner table rendition of ‘Summertime’ or in the closing public recital of the band, The Band’s Visit may just have the power to transcend national boundaries.

Selected release from Fri 9 Nov.

More: Eran Kolirin, The Band’s Visit, Reviews (Film), Reviews (Comedy), Comedy (Film), Drama (Film)

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