The Band’s Visit (2007)
92%RT Audience Score: 86%
Awards & Nominations: 47 wins & 17 nominations
The Band’s Visit is both a clever, subtle slice-of-life comedy, and poignant cross-cultural exploration.
The Band’s Visit is like a warm hug from a stranger that you didn’t know you needed. It’s a movie that will make you laugh, cry, and feel all the emotions in between. The characters are so well-written and acted that you’ll feel like you know them personally by the end of the film. And the music! Oh, the music will transport you to another world. It’s not a movie that will solve the world’s problems, but it will remind you that there is still kindness and connection to be found in the most unexpected places. So grab some popcorn, settle in, and let The Band’s Visit take you on a journey you won’t forget.
Production Company(ies)
Macrocosm Entertainment, Citizen Skull Productions, Bond It Media Capital
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Yeruham, Israel
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language
Year of Release
2008
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 26m
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Language(s):Hebrew, Arabic, English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 8, 2008 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 29, 2008
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, Saleh Bakri, Khalifa Natour, Rubi Moskovitz, Uri Gavriel, directed by Eran Kolirin, written by Eran Kolirin, comedy, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Hank Sartin, David Stratton, Sandra Hall, Jonathan F Richards, Roger Moore, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Dan DiNicola, Toni Vall, Richard Propes, Mattie Lucas, Annie Wagner, Hannah Brown, PG-13, Ehud Bleiberg, Koby Gal-Raday, Guy Jacoel, Eilon Ratzkovsky, Yossi Uzrad, produced by, Sony Pictures Classics, Arabic, Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra, Israel, Negev Desert, Dina, ethnic barriers, shared melancholy, small town, lodging, restaurant, Brief Strong Language, Dolby Digital
Worldwide gross: $14,587,587
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $20,093,844
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,709
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,191,259
US/Canada gross: $3,054,457
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,207,398
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,854
US/Canada opening weekend: $67,492
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $92,968
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,956
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Ronit Elkabetz – Dina
Saleh Bakri – Haled
Khalifa Natour – Simon
Rubi Moskovitz – Itzik
Uri Gavriel – Avrum
Director(s)
Eran Kolirin
Writer(s)
Eran Kolirin
Producer(s)
Ehud Bleiberg, Koby Gal-Raday, Guy Jacoel, Eilon Ratzkovsky, Yossi Uzrad
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
47 wins & 17 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (119) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (117) | Rotten (2)
November 18, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Hank Sartin
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A witty, elegant and deeply affecting film.
July 10, 2008 | Rating: 4.5/5
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
What matters is the sense of exhilaration you take away with you.
July 10, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
The Band’s Visit has pathos, but it is also very funny.
April 13, 2008
Jonathan F. Richards
Film.com
TOP CRITIC
Like no fish-out-of-water film in recent memory, it leaves you with the hope that these fish will find their way back to water, and maybe learn to share that puddle before the desert dries it up entirely.
April 11, 2008 | Rating: 5/5
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Kolirin has a fine sense of where to place the camera and when to cut between shots for maximum comic effect.
March 14, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Even without the coveted Oscar pedigree, this modest comedy has to be the most delightful and enjoyable movie now playing in local theaters.
March 22, 2021
Dan DiNicola
The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)
Everything in it is telegraphed to the point of exasperation. [Full review in Spanish]
November 6, 2020 | Rating: 2.5/5
Toni Vall
Cinemanía (Spain)
Tenderly written, beautifully photographed, and patiently directed.
September 2, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
For all of its dry wit and visual gags, The Band’s Visit is ultimately a poignant slice of life about people from totally different backgrounds and cultures forging unexpected connections and healing old wounds.
July 6, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
It’s not going to solve any problems in the Middle East, and it doesn’t attempt to, either. It’s just a quiet story about the uncomfortable charm of coerced hospitality.
August 22, 2017
Annie Wagner
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)
It’s both quintessentially Israeli and an enjoyable experience that will touch audiences no matter what their background.
March 1, 2016 | Rating: 4/4
Hannah Brown
Jerusalem Post…
Plot
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, led 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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The Band’s Visit features a cast of mostly unknown actors, including Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, and Saleh Bakri.
Eran-Kolirin.jpg
