70
A warm and delightful take on cross-cultural relations that proves that sometimes a light touch is just what's needed to address serious topics.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
80
Has an irresistible tragic and romantic undertow.
70
The New Yorker by Anthony Lane
As the film concludes with his upraised hand, conductor’s fingers unfurling against a blue sky, you do feel that you have witnessed a small victory of wisdom over indifference and ennui. When in doubt, strike up the band.
88
A remote, Israeli desert town is the setting for this droll, endearing comedy about an accidental cultural exchange that very quietly says some very important things about contemporary Arab-Israeli relations.
80
Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan
Both sweet-natured and sharply pointed, a film whose poignant, emotional effects and subtle acting sneak up on you.
70
The New York Times by Manohla Dargis
Mr. Kolirin, it emerges, is wrenching comedy out of intense melancholia.
70
I’d be lying if I said that The Band’s Visit isn’t touching and uplifting and all those other audience-friendly emotions against which film critics are believed to religiously steel themselves. But in a season rife with movies (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Grace Is Gone, The Kite Runner, et al.) that aggressively pry open viewers’ chest cavities and yank on their heartstrings, Kolirin’s film is the only one that plucks at them gently, tickling the funny bone as it goes.
88
A modest and charming comedy from Israel.
100
A heartfelt, wry and decidedly spry film.