Bikur Ha-Tizmoret (The Band’s Visit)

This charming film by Elin Kolirin has beautiful visual composition, good and subtle comedy rhythm and very good director, and all that makes the movie quite good. Tells about an Egyptian band that gets stranded for one night in a remote desert Israel town full of unemployment and boredom. Actually is a warm and delightful take on cross-cultural relations that as one critic says, “proves that sometimes a light touch is just what’s needed to address serious topics”.

Have to say that the movie is very playful, charming and cute; the acting is very good as well as the chemistry among performers. Has very nice cinematography with nice takes of the light blue uniforms against bland almost pastel like desert or structures background, slow pace and nice silences. It is a well-crafted movie that has won many awards (20+) allover the world and was disqualified form the Oscars because it has too much English.

So, the movie has all the correct ingredients for me to love it, but it didn’t happen. I did enjoy the film tech and artistic side, I smiled in the right places, even liked the music. But there is something missing for me and I think I figured out what it is. Lacks emotional involvement, as it does not emotionally involve you (or perhaps only me) and you become only a spectator. You only see what is going on and you enjoyed, but there is no way for you to penetrate into the story.

Still, I think is a movie that could be a crowd pleaser, as there are many fun to watch situations. So I suggest giving it a try and sharing your experience with this movie.