SUNDAY SCHMOOZE
Brunch, Film, and Discussion hosted by Fred Craden
THE BAND'S VISIT
(Bikur Ha-Tizmoret)
Sunday, January 7, Bagels at 10 am | Film at 11 am
Members $11 | Public $16
This audience-pleasing winner of eight Israeli Oscars, and inspiration for the new hit Broadway musical, follows the comic plight of an Egyptian police band headed to Israel to play at the inaugural ceremony of an Arab arts centre, only to find themselves lost in a remote Israeli village.
This crowd-pleasing winner of eight Israeli Oscars, and inspiration for the new hit Broadway musical, follows the comic plight of the Alexandrian Police Orchestra. These eight slightly bewildered Egyptian officers, after getting lost at the airport, arrive in a remote, slightly empty Israeli village, their powder-blue uniforms standing out against the desert landscape. Fortunately, they connect with Dina, a ballsy, sexy café owner (Ronit Elkabetz, three-time winner of the Israeli Oscar), who helps them find lodging for the night. From the very first images of his first theatrical film, writer-director Elan Kolirin displays a mastery of low-key deadpan visual humor in the manner of Tati and Jarmusch. With its precise portions of tact, irony and sweetness, Director Eran Kolirin’s film gives ‘humanist cinema’ a good name, and offers yet another example of the resurgence of Israel's vibrant, provocative and increasingly varied film culture. (Israel/USA/France, 2007, 90 min., Hebrew/Arabic/English, PG-13, DCP | Dir. Eran Kolirin)