The Band’s Visit

A small police band from Egypt travels to Israel to play at the opening of an Arab cultural centre. When they arrive at the airport, no one is there to pick them up. They hopefully get on board a bus and – after some communication problems – end up in an isolated small desert town. ‘There’s no Arab cultural centre here. In fact, there’s no culture here at all.’ The bus back doesn’t leave till the next day. The members of the band have to pass the time in the town, and tentatively make contact with the locals.
The tragicomic The Band’s Visit, director Eran Kolirin’s feature film debut, uses a light, endearing tone to play with the cultural differences between the Arab and Israeli characters and between the generations. The unstoppable force of music plays a major role as a universal means of communication that blurs all sorts of boundaries.

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