The Band's Visit

Though admirably minimalist in its heart-tugging or lesson-learning, this is a crowd-pleaser that didn’t especially please me. Writer-director Eran Kolirin follows an official Egyptian band of eight, dressed in powder-blue military uniforms, as they go astray on their way to perform at the opening of an Arab cultural center somewhere in the Israeli desert. Finding themselves stuck in a remote settlement with “no Arab culture, no Israeli culture, no culture at all,” they have no choice but to accept the hospitality of a lively cafe owner, played so enticingly by Ronit Elkabetz that I had to move Late Marriage to the top of my Netflix queue, where it has languished for years. The culture clash is muted here in the middle of nowhere, with both sides finding common ground in English (which kept this film out of the running for a foreign film Oscar). With some charming set-ups and amusing awkward moments, the film does not press its message of can’t-we-all-just-get-along? It remains astringent and deadpan, but in the end the anecdotes did not add up to much of anything. This is certainly a film that does not insult your intelligence while it tickles your funnybone or heartstrings, but it didn’t tickle mine all that much. (2007, dvd, n.) *6+* (MC-80.)