TGITF — Thank God it’s the Third Friday! It’s movie night.
Where: The Millers home, 6434 Barberry Court
When: 7:00 p.m. Bring treats of your choice.
Movie: "The Band’s Visit" (2007, Rated PG-13, 87 min.)
Israeli movie. Language English (more than 50%), Arabic, Israeli.
Synopsis : On an ordinary day, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arrives in Israel from Egypt for a cultural event, only find there is no delegation to meet them, nor any arrangements to get to their destination of Petah Tiqva. When they find their own ride, they arrive instead at the remote town of Beit Hatikva. Stuck there until the next morning’s bus, the band, lead by the repressed Tawfiq Zacharaya, gets help from the worldly lunch owner, Dina, who offers to put them up for the night. As the band settles in as best it can, each of the members attempts to get along with the natives in their own way. What follows is a special night of quiet happenings and confessions as the band makes its own impact on the town and the town on them.
Review: (Spirituality and Practice website)Novice director Erna Kolirin has fashioned a deeply spiritual drama about the bridge-making capacities of hospitality and the way music serves as universal language that draws people together. Instead of making a message film about Arabs and Jews, Kolirin has made a comedy filled with lovable characters struggling to communicate with those from a different culture and religion. They reach out to each other in simple ways: singing “Summertime” around a kitchen table, listening to the cadences in the Arabic language, and sharing a moment on a park bench. The cause of peace is nurtured in such soulful moments, and our hearts are lifted as we watch them unfold.
Metacritic Score: 80
David Thomas
