Cannes. The Band's Visit.

"I finally found a film at the 60th to love," announces Erica Abeel at Filmmaker: Israeli filmmaker Eran Kolirin's debut feature, Bikur Hatizmoret (The Band's Visit). "Band is a small movie - but in the way Chekhov is small."

Linking to Duane Byrge's review for the Hollywood Reporter, Ray Bennett calls Band the "best film so far at this year's Festival de Cannes, by a country mile." Byrge writes that the film "shows what you can do with virtually nothing for a set and no big box office elements - you can make a terrific film about people.... A 'little' film with a great reach, it met a crescendo of applause in its Un Certain Regard screening. Underscored with droll comedy and counterpointed with unexpected revelations, this film is an oasis of creativity in the often barren bigness of a festival."

Variety's Jay Weissberg: "By pic's end it's not just that the Israelis and Egyptians have learned something about each other, they've learned something about themselves. Mastering these lessons without becoming artificially rosy-eyed would defeat a lesser talent, but both in script and direction Kolirin proves he's more than up to the task."

Update, 5/24: "Unlike the urgent topicality of other recent Israeli cinema, particularly the Western-derived narratives of Eytan Fox, Kolirin's direction has a light and enjoyable touch, opening with a title card that sets the absurdist note," writes Eric Kohn at indieWIRE. "Despite the combination of ethnicities and a setting that tends to generate negative international press, The Band's Visit is refreshingly apolitical."

Update, 5/25: "Filmed in long, unbroken takes, the minimalist style recalls Kaurismäki, which, combined with some characterful performances, makes for some great comic set-pieces," writes Ed Lawrenson for Time Out. "But behind the poker-faced front, there's real warmth and emotion."

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Cannes @ 60. Index.

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Posted by dwhudson at May 21, 2007 1:01 AM