Glad to see Mastidon filing more reports with us. I’m digging the work he’s doing, and I’m glad he’s decided to send us more stuff from each of the festivals he attends.
I am going to see THE BAND’S VISIT very soon, and haven’t heard a thing about CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’, but I’m curious to see what Mastidon has to say about both...
Hi Guys,
Mastidon here with 2 reviews of lost in translation movies - Bikur Ha-Tizmoret (THE BAND'S VISIT) and CALIFORNIA DREAMIN'. Both share the same element of people ending up at a place they are not supposed to be and not speaking the local language making them perfect to review together.
THE BAND'S VISIT - 4 Stars (Out of 5)
Written / Directed by Eran Kolirin
The Alexandria Ceremonial Police Band has been invited to Israel for a visit to help inaugurate a new Arab Cultural Center. The problem is that when they arrive from Egypt, nobody's there to meet them. You really have to feel sorry for these guys. Decked out in full band geek garb, standing on the edge of the desert waiting for someone to come and meet them. Alas, nobody does. Stuck in Israel with an address and not speaking much English, they take the wrong bus to the wrong town. This is a beautiful film to see how average Israelis, who live in middle of nowhere, react to their new Arab arrivals.
The director really tries to show that people are people. Doesn't matter if your Arab or Israeli. They discover that they all have the same needs, desires, and emotional turmoil. Be it middle-aged and looking for love, or being young and looking to get laid, or the death of a loved one. The interaction between the Egyptians and the Israelis even though they can barely communicate, is very touching in its transformation from suspicion to friendship. In the end, the band leaves an impact on these townspeople that will no doubt remind them that not all Arabs are bad guys trying to kill them.
One sad note about this film. The rumor going around was that Israel was going to submit it as this year's Oscar choice for best foreign language film but in the end rejected it as it did not have enough Hebrew in it. To me, it was and is the perfect choice as it shows an Israel that needs to be reminded that on a one-to-one basis, peace can work.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' - 3 1/2 Stars (Out of 5)
Written / Directed by Cristian Nemescu
Starring Amand Assante, Kamie Elman, Razvan Vasilescu, and Maria Dinulescu
The film is set in 1999 during the Kosovo War. A NATO train full of Americans and top secret military equipment headed for the front gets stopped in a small Romanian town by a stubborn railway station manager. The manager is played by Razvan Vasilescu. He's determined not to let the train leave without the proper customs paperwork. The impact, a train full of horny Americans is let loose on a Romanian town that's broke and in desperate need of a boost to its economy. Most of the townspeople don't speak English and the Americans only have a single translator who can speak Romanian. The American Captain (Armand Assante) wants nothing to do with it and wants to get out of this town by any means necessary.
The film shows the over-all perception of what it must have been like as an Eastern European waiting for Americans to arrive to save them from the Nazis and Russians but never did. Left angry and bitter, its no wonder there is the resentment of the older generation. Where the younger generation simply wants to party and leave this god forsaken town as fast as possible. You can feel the over-all desire of this town to simply be something more than it currently is. Where I think this movie fails is that it tries too hard to show that Americans don't care about anyone but Americans. Clearly history shows some truth to this but I feel that its over exaggerated for this period where the Americans were trying to help put an end to the Kosovo War.
Both films are good entertainment. But I really have to give the edge to THE BAND'S VISIT to spend your valuable hard earned cash on. Where CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' seems like it is just trying to be a message movie, THE BAND'S VISIT is a more human and compelling film making it the more enjoyable experience. I could really connect with these poor guys who were totally lost, didn't speak the language, and were completely out of place. And in the end, felt mostly at home.
Still have another half dozen or so reviews to write for you all. The London Film Festival is filled with some really great Indie films this year...
Ciao for now,
-Mastidon
