OK for kids 13+
Insightful drama shatters post-9/11 stereotypes.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that this thoughtful drama -- which celebrates the diversity of other cultures -- explores the hot-button issue of immigration. There's a little bit of swearing and some drinking, but overall the content is age-appropriate for teens, though very sensitive kids may be upset by the fact that the story doesn't spare the heartbreak that comes when families are separated abruptly. Characters pay dearly for their mistakes, even accidental ones. It's clear that the filmmaker has a strong point of view about U.S. policy since 9/11, but he attempts to be fair and even-handed.
- Families can talk about the wide range of attitudes toward people who are in the U.S. illegally. How do you think the filmmaker feels about the immigrant characters he has created? What contributions do they make to their adopted country? Does this movie change any of your ideas about people and families from the Middle East and Africa? What about immigration in general? What do you think the movie's final message is?
The good stuff
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Messages: Characters generally behave morally and ethically throughout. They exhibit sensitivity and appreciation for racial and cultural diversity. Two leading characters have expired visas and are in the U.S. illegally -- the consequences for that are severe. But despite unyielding, dispassionate government agencies, the individuals in authority are usually shown to be reasonable.
What to watch for
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Violence: Police are harsh when they arrest a man in a subway station.
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Sex: Not an issue
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Language: Brief cursing in just one early sequence, used to indicate fear and surprise: "what the f--k?," "motherf---er," and "s--t."
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Consumerism: Not an issue
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Drinking, drugs and smoking: Red wine is consumed on several occasions, but never to excess.
Fan Reviews provided by
5
The Visitor by deanlockhart
Quiet, original, tender, moving. The Visitor takes its time to make you care about Walter Vale and the empty life he leads. Richard Jenkins delivers a masterful portrayal of a college professor who has had all the passion rung out of his life. A strange turn of events introduces him to two illegal immigrants who are mysteriously renting his apartment in NYC. The surprising relationship he develops with this Syrian drummer begins to give him a reason to wake up and see what his life has become until his new friend is imprisoned and awaits deportation. Both director/writer McCarthy and Jenkins expertly avoid the obvious and risk underplaying rather than overplaying the vignettes within the movie. What results is a genuine opportunity to be inspired by how relationships can drop you into deep despair, but also reveal hidden reservoirs of compassion. The Visitor is closer to LIFE than HOLLYWOOD. If you prefer cookie-cutter storytelling, you might just miss the magic in this special gem.
4
The Visitor - Worth The Ticket by RichardInColorado
Worth the price of a ticket! Interesting journey...mixture of tempo and heart warming story lines that weave into an exploration of immigrants rights. Richard Jenkins, as Walter Vale, is a disillusioned professor who has disconnected from his soul. He slowly reconnects to a joy that he hasn?t known since the loss of his wife
and re-discovers life from a dimension he has never known. Accept the slow pace...and don't drink caffine prior to viewing.
5
The Visitor by grizjohn
Every American should be required to see this movie. Really amazing story. It is a slow-moving film, but the story is wonderful and gut-wrenching at the same time. Really makes you look in the mirror and ask yourself, "is this what America has become?" It is sort of pathetic to see that not many folks are going to this film - and to see what films make the top 10. Figures.
5
"The Visitor" -- Be Sure You Visit! by xanaduzer
Thoughtful and thought-provoking with clean, crisp dialogue rendered in "real world" real voices by a quartet of engaging actors. "The Visitor" feels far more real than any TV reality show has or can. Its pace mirrors the pace of event protrayed; and the realizations the audience experiences arise as naturally as the self-imposed barriers to life and fantasies about it of the characters dissolve. Go, being prepared to think and feel and come away with questions about much that is daily life in post-9/11 America; but, go...
4
The Visitor by agallo61
Great movie was well filmed and had a message in regards to how our American Imigration system is broken. This is am insight to what immigrants go through while trying to make a decent life here in the great USA.
5
A Spirited Movie...A Study of Several Interesting People... by norm_the_moviegoer
I know that I am in a minority, but I enjoyed this movie a lot. It will appeal to people interested in people. The characters portrayals are very rich. The feelings of Walter, the genuineness and kindness of Tarek, the fears of Zainab, and the strength and loving support of Mouna are all beautifully portrayed through the words, body language, and actions of the players.
5
the Visitor by standard31
Just great. Academy winning performance.
5
Among the Best by dthomasmaddox
This film strikes deep. It shows the new world of people displaced across the globe, sometimes willingly, sometimes not, and how contingent their lives become. It also shows how people can reach out to each other across boundaries of language, race, religion, nationality and form spontaneous alliances against the various soulless organizations that govern them. And, alas, it shows how those organizations see people only in terms of categories, dehumanizing and punishing them almost at random.
And it shows how even late in life, when someone has crossed into an arid desert of being, he can be revivified by music, love, and commitment.
Finally, almost incidentally, it struck me with a profound sense of shame and sorrow about my country's government and about the power over people we have given to organizations who don't deserve it and can't manage it.
5
The Visitor by JOBAIO
This was the best movie I have seen in a long time . The casting was excellent, and the script was great.
5
The Visitor by njc616
What a great movie. Wanted it to keep going as I had gotten into the characters a lot. Very true to what happens but it was a sweet film too. shows you don't need name actors to have a great film. Wish the name of the CD they played had been said more than once as it was good.