nwFilmCenter

Israel

Thu, Feb 7, 2008
at 7:30 PM

THE BAND'S VISIT

DIRECTOR: ERAN KOLIRIN
ISRAEL
The winner of eight Israeli "Oscars," Kolirin's wry film follows the comic plight of the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra. On their trip to perform at an Arab Cultural Center, no one shows up to meet them at the airport. So they head out on their own, but wind up stranded in a remote and almost empty Israeli village. Their powder-blue uniforms standing out against the desert landscape, the band is greeted by the curiously amused and generous-hearted locals, who take them in for a memorable night. Kolirin's low-key, deadpan visual humor recalls both Jacques Tati and Jim Jarmusch, but moves beyond situational comedy to find characters unexpectedly confronting what one refers to as "tons of loneliness" and an almost existential sadness. With its precise portions of tact, irony and sweetness, this charming film gives "humanist cinema" a good name, finding hope in the smallest moments of cross cultural understanding, and in the unity found in diversity. In Hebrew, English and Arabic with English subtitles. Print courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. ( 90 min )

First Feature Film.
Co-sponsored by the Consulate General of Israel to the Pacific Northwest.
For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live.
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Sat, Feb 16, 2008
at 8:45 PM

Mon, Feb 18, 2008
at 1:30 PM

BEAUFORT

DIRECTOR: JOSEPH CEDAR
ISRAEL
Winner of the Best Director Prize at the Berlin Film Festival, Beaufort derives its name from the Israeli military base in southern Lebanon occupied from the war in 1982 until 2000. The film tells the story of the troops' last weeks of occupation, focusing on Liraz Liberti, the 22-year-old commander who is responsible for the dangerous withdrawal from the base, which is still under fire. Stripped back and minimal in its approach, the taut drama mines the tension between the soldiers as they respond to their imminent evacuation and loss of purpose, and reveals Liberti's emotional strain as he prepares to destroy the site they have been defending for so long, and which has claimed so many lives. This year's Israeli submission for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. Print courtesy of Kino International. ( 125 min )

Filmography: Time of Favor (01), Campfire (04).
Sponsored by The Portland Jewish Film Festival, April 3-18.
For more information or to vote online visit Oregon Live.
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