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CANNES:
It is a film that stole the hearts of all the Cannes Film
Festival cinegoers. Bikur Hatizmoret (The Band's Visit)
got a standing ovation in the Theatre Claude Debussy for more
than 10 minutes in the Un Certain Regard section. And it quite
likely will get a similar reception wherever it is screened.
The
80 minute masterpiece keeps you glued, as it follows the trail
of an Egyptian police band (in danger of being wound up) which
lands in Israel for a first performance with no one to pick
them up and take them where they have to perform.
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| Ronit
Elkabetz and Sasson Gabai in a scene from Cannes Un Certain
Regard film Bikur Hatizmoret. |
Taufiq,
the straightjacketed, old worldly proper, stoic Arabic leader
of the band, played immaculately by Israeli actor Sasson Gabai,
serves as the pivot of the plot and has the entire band under
a steel like grip, with the exception of the youngest entrant
Haled, played by Saleh Bakri. Haled has a mind of his own,
is free spirited and flirts with every woman in sight. Both
Taufiq and Haled sharply contrast, one a widower who prefers
his own company and the other who likes feminine company.
Throughout the film, the two are seen at odds with each other,
with the former constantly chiding him and the latter maintaining
his defiance.
With
no one to guide them from the airport and no signs in Arabic,
Haled gets directions for their town from the airport information
counter wrongly and the entire band lands up in a desert town
with no transport available for a day. There they become a
standout because of their blue starched comic book uniforms
and offer merriment to the denizens. A restaurant worker Dina
(played superbly by the beautiful Israeli actor Ronit Elkabetz)
takes kindly to them and houses a couple of them in her tony
apartment, while encouraging others in the neighbourhood to
provide the rest a bed for the night.
The
beds are mostly unused as the members stay up. Dina tries
her best to get close to Taufiq and even tries to seduce him.
She breaks through his iron exterior. He admits to having
been strict with his wife and son, which led to his son committing
suicide. A bond develops between them, as they chat with each
other in a restaurant. She dresses up for it. However, nothing
transpires between them and if anything was to, it does not.
After retiring for bed, he wakes up looking for Dina and finds
her in a clinch with Haled making love to him.
Haled
had earlier gone out with one of the assistants in the restaurant
and some young locals to a nightclub. There, he educates the
young assistant on how he should love a girl he is very shy
of. A few comic interludes follow, with Haled showing him
how to keep his hand on her leg, and then how to kiss her.
The young assistant follows his instructions and wins over
the young girl. Haled then goes to Dina's home, sees her with
Taufiq, who goes to his room. Haled sensing that Dina needs
sex, services her.
The
other band members sit outside the restaurant in their costumes
and with their musical instruments waiting for the dawn. A
mission car comes up (one of the band members had in the night
called a friend of his in the Israeli consulate to help) and
ferries them to the town that they have to perform. The film
ends with the band's performance.
The
Band's Visit is a classic film, it is a poignant film.
The film has no grandiose or posh sets or locations, but it
is filled with emotions and is laced with humor which makes
it a must watch film. Director Eran Kolirin has taken care
to keep it short of melodrama, giving it the right touch.
It focuses on how humans react when put in an unexpected situation
and how they rise above themselves. It keeps away from any
political pontification, focusing instead on the human spirit
and interaction between the people of two nations which are
supposed to be at war with each other. All the actors in the
film have put in superlative performances in a very believable
film.
No
wonder it got a special mention by the Un Certain Regard jury.
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