I had extremely low expectations for this film, but even I failed to predict how nauseously sentimental, foolishly unrealistic, and poorly written it would be. All of the Israelis posting glowing reviews about this movie should be ashamed of themselves for praising such a low-quality product. I think according to those Israeli viewers, just because a movie is produced in Israel, it must be good. I'm originally from Israel but I will never hesitate to harshly criticize Israel's disgraceful cinematic efforts.
This movie must be classified as a total failure for several reasons. First, it is unabashedly sentimental and clichéd. You have already seen this type of movie many times before. A group of characters from a foreign country visit another country and guess what happens? They are transformed by their visit, and similarly transform those with whom they interact during their visit. This is the type of story that is dreamed up by a 12 year old or a C-grade screenwriter but actually has very little to do with real life.
Second, the characters are mere clichés and stock types and are not real at all. I didn't believe that a single character shown had anything in common with an actual human being. There is of course a rigidly serious Egyptian orchestra leader who develops an unfulfilled romance with a promiscuous, so-called "free spirited" Israeli restaurant owner. Then there is a socially awkward young Israeli boy who is of course tutored in the ways of girls by a fun-loving Egyptian youth. All of these sequences and scenes were so utterly detached from reality that I actually had to laugh. Essentially this movie does not contain even a trace of realism.
Finally, the writing is absolutely horrible. I frequently cringed when the scriptwriter invoked singing sequences in which characters sang songs out of nowhere in front of total strangers. Does anyone do that in real life? Of course no one does. The dialogue between the characters is completely artificial and not once did it seem remotely realistic.
I would give this movie a 0 out of 10 stars. Israel's filmmakers have shown once again that they are incapable of making a deep, insightful, or realistic film. There are only two excellent Israeli films that I know of: Late Marriage and The Syrian Bride. The Band's Visit, like so many other Israeli movies, is a disgraceful, sentimental production totally devoid of meaning.
This movie must be classified as a total failure for several reasons. First, it is unabashedly sentimental and clichéd. You have already seen this type of movie many times before. A group of characters from a foreign country visit another country and guess what happens? They are transformed by their visit, and similarly transform those with whom they interact during their visit. This is the type of story that is dreamed up by a 12 year old or a C-grade screenwriter but actually has very little to do with real life.
Second, the characters are mere clichés and stock types and are not real at all. I didn't believe that a single character shown had anything in common with an actual human being. There is of course a rigidly serious Egyptian orchestra leader who develops an unfulfilled romance with a promiscuous, so-called "free spirited" Israeli restaurant owner. Then there is a socially awkward young Israeli boy who is of course tutored in the ways of girls by a fun-loving Egyptian youth. All of these sequences and scenes were so utterly detached from reality that I actually had to laugh. Essentially this movie does not contain even a trace of realism.
Finally, the writing is absolutely horrible. I frequently cringed when the scriptwriter invoked singing sequences in which characters sang songs out of nowhere in front of total strangers. Does anyone do that in real life? Of course no one does. The dialogue between the characters is completely artificial and not once did it seem remotely realistic.
I would give this movie a 0 out of 10 stars. Israel's filmmakers have shown once again that they are incapable of making a deep, insightful, or realistic film. There are only two excellent Israeli films that I know of: Late Marriage and The Syrian Bride. The Band's Visit, like so many other Israeli movies, is a disgraceful, sentimental production totally devoid of meaning.
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