The Band's Visit

"Once, not long ago, a small Egyptian police band arrived in Israel. Not many people remember this. It wasn’t that
important." So begins The Band’s Visit, an understated little film from Israeli
director Eran Kolirin. When no one is at the airport to meet the eponymous
band, the musicians, dressed in baby blue police uniforms and lugging their
instruments through the village streets, are forced to split up and crash at
the homes of the bemused inhabitants. But like many unimportant moments in our
lives, The Band’s Visit is really about those quiet minutes spent connecting
with fellow human beings, sharing observations, memories, pain, suffering, and,
of course, love-moments we remember forever. There is little to say about this
beautiful picture other than that it succeeds marvelously at making us feel
profoundly happy, a feat that eludes almost every movie out there. ‘

Edina Cinema, 3911 W. 50th
St., Edina; 651-649-4416.