Full posts later on

OK, I'm a little behind. Full reviews later, but ...

Good but not quite great:

Pineapple Express

The Bank Job

Disappointingly mediocre:

Vicky Christina Barcelona

Movie No. 14: The Band's Visit

While you might forget it while watching generic romantic comedy No. 3,297, there is something elemental in storytelling about the concept of "boy meets girl." Two people, often strangers, tentatively probing a connection they feel but don't really yet understand, talking, learning about each other, and often themselves, through it. Some of the best movies of recent years, from Linklater's masterful duo of "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" to last year's best film, "Once," have had this at their core.

So too does Eran Kolirin's feature film directorial debut, "The Band's Visit." While much of the attention given to the film concerns its small-scale exploration of Arab-Israeli tensions and how there is more that unites us than divides us, it succeeds in those things because it never forgets the importance of its characters and that central connection.

The film opens with an Egyptian police band, led by the exceptionally serious Lieutenant-colonel Tawfiq Zacharya (Sasson Gabai), arriving at an Israeli airport, set to play at the opening of an Arab cultural center. No one, however, arrives to pick them up. After some directions are lost in translation, they end up stuck for the night in a small Jewish town where, as one local put it, there's not an Arab cultural center or an Israeli cultural center or really much in the way of culture at all.

Early on, the film appeared to be heading toward a rather predictable romantic triangle with Tawfiq and young ladies man Haled (Saleh Bakri) vying for the affections of local restaurant owner Dina (Ronit Elkabetz). Thankfully, the film is smart enough to care more about that tentative connection between the lonely Dina and heartbroken Tawfiq than any romantic hijinks. Watching them gradually reveal themselves, their pain and hopes, is beautiful to watch. Through them and the interactions of the other band members and the townspeople we see that barrier, the layer of culturally ingrained distrust that hangs over every action and must be broken through. Bakri and Elkabetz work some wonderful magic together

While you might not have guessed it from the beginning of this review, "The Band's Visit" is actually also a funny, entertaining film. In fact, one of its few faults is that at times it can get a bit too cutesy, too simple. Whenever it does, though, it is the film's dedication to the its characters that pulls it back. It's faith in that simple boy-meets-girl convention allows it to shine.

A-