Pitch perfect on epic conflict

When Israel and Egypt made peace in 1979, Israelis were optimistic. Tel Aviv's bars and beaches would fill with Egyptian tourists. Israel's Egyptian community would reunite with their former countrymen. A new era of Arab-Israeli relations would begin.

But it was not to be. For a multitude of reasons, the Egyptians stayed away. Instead, what followed was but the frostiest semblance of peace. Which is why, almost three decades on, a film about an Egyptian police band lost in a small Israeli town can still intrigue audiences with this most incongruous culture clash.

Almost unanimously praised for its courage and subject matter, on second viewing the beauty of The Band's Visit is in the detail. Anyone who has been to Israel will recognise the cleaner who walks straight in front of the uniformed Alexandria Police Band as they pose for a photo. Egyptian etiquette is brashly undermined by unceremonious Israeli chutzpah.

First-time director Eran Kolirin illustrates the wealth of connections that bind the two cultures. The shwarma that the sensual Israeli divorcee, Dina, orders for her punctilious Egyptian guest is a staple of both Jewish and Muslim cooking; the good-luck charm hanging on the wall of the airport office. Beneath the clothes and behaviour, one cannot tell the two peoples apart.

Nevertheless, the Egyptians' stifling uniforms and the Israelis' unguarded openness hinder communication. Pregnant silences and awkward, fumbled interaction hint at potential for a greater rapprochement that remains, nevertheless, elusive.

Dina's dreams of Arabian love and band member Simon's unfinished concerto reflect the promise of a peace treaty that never quite delivered. What the film offers instead, though, is gradual reconciliation through the minutiae of life. The orchestra manages a wave as it leaves.

Beyond the pompous promise of politics, The Band's Visit offers a peace of stuttering human contact - but a warmer peace for it.

Josh Freedman-Berthoud is writing a book about Israeli settlements, due next year.

The Band's Visit
Cert: 12A