Bikur Ha-Tizmoret (The band's visit)

There are a few rare movies that grab hold of the viewer from the very start. After the first few pictures. For me, Bikur Ha-Tizmoret (The band's visit, 2007) provided me with that kind of experience of being totally enchanted from beginning to end. In the introductory scenes, a group of men dressed in uniforms are standing, as it were, in the middle of nowhere. The picture is very clean, very focused, and the blue uniforms shine starkly in the bright light. Already here, I realized that this film simply can't be bad, not with a scene like that. Even the god damn tagline is brilliant: "Once - not long ago - a small Egyptian police band arrived in Israel. Not many remember this...It wasn't that important."

And, boy!, what a movie. The story in itself, a band comprised of police officers from Egypt getting lost somewhere in Israel, isn't that remarkable. But good movies are rarely movies the storylines of which look good on paper. The police officers arrive at the destination they think is the place where they are to perform at a cultural event the next day. They have ended up in the wrong place and there's no bus until the next morning. They are stranded in the town, but a restaurant owner takes them in for the the night. That's about it. But beyond that, every single scene in the movie conveys warmth, insight and sensitivity. Very ordinary situations are transformed into great comedy. In one scene, the group of men who are lodged at the male waiter's house are sitting watching TV. Everything is quiet, except for the blaring sound of the TV (based on the sounds, they are watching cartoons). The men sit on the couch like statues, with grave faces. The waiter's family have all retired after an evening of uncomfortable conversations and subdued conflicts. Both me & my friend cracked up while watching this scene, but none of us dared laugh out loud, as we would've disturbed the silence. There are uncountable moments like that throughout the film, extremely sad and funny at the same time. (For a point of reference for that kind of humor: Kaurismäki)

You might not believe it based on your notions of "a police band", but the music in the film was superb. The music was, of course, as quiet as everything else. A younger police officer, Haled, asks the hostess whether she likes Chet Baker but she is not familiar with his music. Tarwfiq, the leader of the band, a man of dignity, surprisingly tells Haled that he owns all of Chet Baker's records. Haled starts playing a Chet Baker tune on his trumpet. That scene is simply stunning (and also here I found the whole situation strangely comical, even though it might be hard to explain why it is funny that a gray haired egyptian police officer turns out to be an expert on Chet Baker).

You might think: "oh, what a cute little film this seems to be..." But even though I have no problem in saying that I like some movies, even if they will not turn out to be revolutionary in any sense, I would not say that of this film. I was certainly overwhelmed by it and I already think about re-watching it, as there were so many small, delightful details that I might not have understood the first time around. Stunning.