The Band's Visit (2007)

As the film begins, we read an on-screen message: "Once - not long ago - a small Egyptian police band arrived in Israel. Not many remember this...It wasn't important." Turns out that should have been labeled "spoiler alert" and I should have heeded the warning.

The movie is so gentle -- so deliberately gentle -- that its effect is almost nil. Yes, I can read a lot into the barely-there longing in the conductor's eyes, but it seems less than fair that I should be expected to put more work into finding meaning in the images than the filmmakers did.

C-