A group of eight men in sky-blue military uniforms, old and young, standing in the empty aisle of the airport, looked at each other and kept silent.
Israeli director Eran Kolirin's 2007 full-length feature film "The Band's Visit," written and directed, opens in a comically awkward atmosphere. The eight men, members of the Egyptian Alexandria Police Celebration Orchestra, flew to Israel to perform at the opening ceremony of the new Arab Arts Center in Petah Tikva, a small town in northwestern Israel. The old head of the regiment, Colonel Tajiv Zaklia, was stern and serious, inhumane, and could not wait for a response. Knowing that something went wrong, he refused to let his deputy Simon call the embassy for help. The handsome young violinist, Khalid, is a dark horse in the band who refuses to accept discipline. He only cares about having fun and flirting with young girls. He asks the wrong address and leads the whole team to the desert town of Beta Tikwa, which is one word wrong. .
On the one hand, Tina, the beautiful middle-aged proprietress, stared at her with all kinds of style, and on the other hand, Tajiv led the band to and fro the cement road with the screeching sound of the wheels. In this dead town with neither Arabic nor Egyptian culture. Inside, you can even hear the whirring echoes of loneliness whizzing past. But it is not only loneliness, but also a kind of tension hidden under Tajiv's excessive restraint and Tina's restless eyes, a vague sadness that cannot escape history and war, an old memory that permeates and spreads Day scars.
Israel. Egypt.
2009 marked the 30th anniversary of what was supposed to be the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace deal, but Cairo was lukewarm and did not plan to celebrate. The two countries had a bloody war every decade from the 1940s to the 1970s, while Egypt was ostracized by the entire Arab world because of the 79-year peace agreement. Dart was assassinated two years later. Peace, for Egypt, is only a self-preservation method for maximizing interests under American pressure. For decades, the hostile attitude of the Egyptian media and the public towards Israel and Jews has not changed. In the 21st century, with the resurgence of war in the Gaza Strip, the relationship between Arabs and Jews has become increasingly tense. The "cold peace" between Egypt and Israel may turn into a hot war at any time, and the future is uncertain.
Director Alan Collerin couldn't find any Egyptian actor willing to play a role in an Israeli film when he was preparing for "The Band's Visit", so he had to look for Iraqi, Iranian, Moroccan actors of Arab descent among Israeli actors in his own country. Other immigrants, specially trained to speak Arabic with an Egyptian accent.
In the film, Tina tells Tajiv that the Israelis in town were so fascinated by Arab movies as a child, and everyone was huddled in front of the TV on Friday afternoon to watch the Arab star Omar Sharif race through the desert and fight to the death. , shed tears for the love and parting of those great times. In the past 30 years, from the peace agreement to the Gaza Strip, from the Gulf War to the Palestinian-Israeli land disputes and ethnic conflicts, from Jerusalem to Cairo, there have been too many pains, too many strongly suppressed emotions. Too many unspeakable and unresolved tears converged in this virtual town in the story, which became the embarrassment of Tajiv and Tina's nightly date. Those seemingly innocuous conversations with each other became the front of the public phone. The tension and waiting of an Israeli and an Arab compared to each other became the funny helplessness of Khalid teaching the young Israeli Papi how to be gentle with girls at the ice rink, and the clarinetist Simon's song was not completed for 20 years. The concerto, spread out in the cool night, do not know how to finish.
Yes, how should it end?
The Israeli man on the show once suggested to Simon: "You know what? . , the child is sleeping, and... endless loneliness."
Maybe, maybe it should be added a song, the light strings and sighs under the night, the jazz singer Chet Baker sobbing softly, whirling in the wilderness wind and sand.
When you are lonely, as long as there is still singing, as long as you continue to wait, hope will never be far away.
"Open" January 2010 issue.
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