Dana Schwartz

The Band's Visit is understated, probably better described as charming than life-altering, but its scale reinforces the moral themes of the musical itself. Nothing very important happens, no. A boy learns how to talk to girls, a woman recognizes the ways in which she's become stuck, a couple breaks apart and comes together again. Some of these humans who have lost things and who are lost themselves happen to be Arab, and some happen to be Israeli. It's a quiet, beautiful thing The Band's Visit does, and while I wished there had been more something - more emotional payoff, or catharsis - I also recognize that that's sort of the point. A-