Film

The Band's Visit

At first blush, this subtle yet deliberate film appears on the surface to be a light and humorous tale about an Egyptian police band that, due to a lack of understanding of the Hebrew language, becomes lost in the desert. But as deeper layers of meaning reveal themselves, it’s clear that Kolirin has chosen to address the concept of peace—not the fragile peace of sweeping international agreements, but the smaller (and more intimate) person-to-person version, which erases the myth of the insurmountable gulf between close neighbors. Keeping in mind that nearly half of Israel’s small population is Arabic, The Band’s Visit points out that there are more similarities between Arabs and Israelis than there are differences.

The story starts when the small Alexandria Ceremonial Police Band lands in Israel armed only with a piece of paper naming the town where they are scheduled to perform for the opening of an Arab cultural center. When it becomes obvious that their anticipated ride is not going to show, Haled, the young and reckless playboy of the band (played by Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri), is given the task of finding a bus to their destination. Under the hawk-like gaze of the bandleader Tewfiq (played by Sasson Gabai, one of Israel’s most popular actors), Haled is constantly reprimanded for his roving eye and lack of dedication to the band. Predictably, his amorous overtures to the woman behind the ticket counter contribute directly to the band’s misfortunes by mispronouncing the name of the destination, Haled ends up leading his comrades to the isolated town of Beit Hatikvah, where it becomes obvious that they have seriously lost their way.

The band’s plight is mirrored in the surroundings Beit Hatikvah is a town of lost people hanging out at one of the two local restaurants. Dina, the proprietor (played by Ronit Elkabetz, another famous Israeli thespian), is a single woman living alone in a desolate community. Itzik (Rubi Moscovich), another of the restaurant’s patrons, is unemployed and uses the restaurant to escape the shame of not being able to provide for his new family. Papi, a hippy-type loafer, is socially inept. When the band arrives in town, they immediately draw the attention and curiosity of the residents.

Reluctant to ask for help, Tewfiq finally acknowledges the situation his men are in when they petition for food before trying to solve the larger problem of getting back on the road. Dina assures them that no bus will come through before the following morning, and makes arrangements to put them up for the night. As the quiet and gentle story unfolds, the viewer learns about Dina’s loneliness, Tewfiq’s private heartache, Papi’s inability to relate to the opposite sex, and Itzik’s depression and sense of failure. In these small interactions, the Arab men and Israeli residents find common ground. The bleak backdrop for the film only serves to focus the director’s lens on the relationships that emerge.

When the band finally moves on to its real destination of Petah Tikvah, new friendships have been forged, and emotional wounds have been healed while others were opened. Amidst the recitation of poetry and the playing of hauntingly beautiful Egyptian classical music—the band’s specialty—the characters convey a deeply human understanding of the trials and joys of life.

It’s no small wonder that The Band’s Visit has garnered more than a dozen awards at international fi lm festivals, and was given a 15-minute standing ovation at Cannes. With Israel celebrating 60 years of survival in a desert fi lled with hostile neighbors, this tender account of humanity demonstrates that Israelis have come to accept, celebrate and identify with the contributions that Arab culture has made to the country’s multi-faceted existence.

Walk On Water

This cathartic film deals both with Israel’s present, as a nation constantly on guard against internal attacks and external threats, and with its past, most significantly as it pertains to coming to grips with the Holocaust.

Eyal (Lior Ashkenazi) is a Mossad agent whose life’s work is killing. As the fi lm opens, Eyal finds his wife dead from an intentional drug overdose. She leaves him a note, the content of which remains a mystery until much later in the film. Eyal’s superiors, beginning to doubt his mental stability, assign him a “light” mission: to befriend the grandchildren of a Nazi fugitive in order to track him down and “finish him before God does.” Despite the task at hand, Eyal actually does develop a real relationship with Axel (Knut Berger), a hip young German with an ear for female singers, and his sister Pia (Caroline Peters), who has relocated from Berlin to an Israeli kibbutz.

Eyal’s emotional connection causes him to go above and beyond his undercover role as Axel’s tour guide in Israel, and the two seem to mesh on a deeper level until Eyal finds out about Axel’s sexual orientation, which causes him to want to withdraw from the case. At the behest of his Mossad boss, Eyal is sent to Berlin to complete the mission. In the end, his humanity overtakes his killer instincts, and when he finally locates the ailing Nazi, he fi nds he is unable to finish the job. As it turns out, the key to the film’s closing twist lies in Axel’s declaration to Eyal when the two of them go to the Sea of Galilee for a day at the beach.

“You don’t understand,” Axel explains stoically. “You can’t just come to the Sea of Galilee and start walking on water. If you could, everybody would be doing it. You need to prepare yourself.”

“And how would you do that?” Eyal asks. “Please enlighten me.”

“Well, you need to completely purify yourself,” Axel says. “Your heart needs to be like it’s clean from the inside: no negativity, no bad thoughts.” Beautifully shot on location in Israel and Germany, Fox’s suspenseful and moving fi lm ends on an esoteric but wholly gratifying note, affirming the ability of humans to surpass their prejudices and limitations.