The Band's Visit (2007)

A band comprised of members of the Egyptian police force head to Israel to play at the inaugural ceremony of an Arab arts center, only to find themselves lost in the wrong town.

Director:

Eran Kolirin

Writer:

Eran Kolirin

Stars:

Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, Saleh Bakri

46 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Sasson Gabai	...	Lieutenant-colonel Tawfiq Zacharya
Ronit Elkabetz	...	Dina
Saleh Bakri	...	Haled
Khalifa Natour	...	Simon
Rubi Moskovitz	...	Itzik
Uri Gavriel	...	Avrum
Imad Jabarin	...	Major-general Camal Abdel Azim
Hilla Sarjon	...	Iris
Shlomi Avraham	...	Papi
Tarik Kopty	...	Iman (as Tarak Kopty)
Rinat Matatov	...	Yula
Tomer Yosef	...	Ars
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ahuva Keren	...	Lea
François Khell	...	Makram
Hisham Khoury	...	Fauzi

Storyline

On an ordinary day, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arrives in Israel from Egypt for a cultural event, only find there is no delegation to meet them, nor any arrangements to get to their destination of Petah Tiqva. When they find their own ride, they arrive instead at the remote town of Beit Hatikva. Stuck there until the next morning's bus, the band, led by the repressed Tawfiq Zacharaya, gets help from the worldly lunch owner, Dina, who offers to put them up for the night. As the band settles in as best it can, each of the members attempts to get along with the natives in their own way. What follows is a special night of quiet happenings and confessions as the band makes its own impact on the town and the town on them.

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Plot Keywords:

band | police | israel | arab | egyptian | 

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Taglines:

They came, they saw, they bridged a divide.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [United States]

Country:

Israel USA France

Language:

Hebrew Arabic English

Release Date:

21 March 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

A zenekar látogatása

Filming Locations:

Negev Desert, Israel

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$67,492, 10 February 2008

Gross USA:

$3,054,457

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,555,884

Company Credits

Production Co:

July August Productions, Bleiberg Entertainment, Sophie Dulac Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The town featured in the film, Beit Hatikva, is fictional and filming actually took place in the southern Israeli city Yeruham.

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Goofs

When speaking in Arabic, Tawfiq pronounces some words with the Egyptian Arabic pronunciation, and some words with the Palestinian Arabic pronunciation. Being an Egyptian, he should talk in Egyptian Arabic dialect all the time.

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Connections

Featured in Sharon Amrani: Remember His Name (2010)

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Soundtracks

Summertime
(From opera "Porgy and Bess", 1935)
Music by George Gershwin
Lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward

User Reviews

The Band's Visit is pure magic

Eran Kolirin is a name to watch out for. This film maker is simply brilliant. In the band's visit he tells a quite simple story, but not without pulling a trick here and there and believe me, he's not a one trick pony. Actor performances are subdued and very truthful making the movie a story of unpersued dreams that goes straight to the heart. It's warm melancholy mood never gets heavy or painful cause it's countered so wittily with scenes that make you smile from ear to ear. To top it all off there's well chosen music, honest photography and clever camera direction. The Band's visit tells of a classic mix-up, but without ever being cheap.