Sometimes when a film comes to the theaters, there is so little fanfare that the public misses it.  When The Visitor was released I was in Paducah, Kentucky, a place where non-mainstream film gets no notice whatever.  The single single art house theater in town had the annoying habit of showing the same movie for a month at a time.  This meant that only 12 films were shown each year.  Those of us obsessed with film missed most of the art films having either to go to the mainstream theater (there’s only one) or rent from Netflix.  Since most mainstream stuff is crap, I opted for Netflix.  Yet somehow, I missed this one.

            The Visitor is something I call “An Important Film.”  This is a film that says something meaningful and represents the feelings of the part of society that the government always ignores when making laws that apply to everyone.  These films are usually political in nature but not always.

            Walter Vale is a university professor who has become complacent and bored with his life without realizing that he is merely existing rather than living.  When he is told that he must present a paper at a conference, he leaves Connecticut and heads to his old apartment in New York.  Once there, he finds that someone has rented his apartment to a young couple who are, unfortunately, illegal immigrants. 

            These two reignite his life.  But, after getting stuck in a subway turnstile, the young man, Tarek, is arrested for jumping the turnstile, which he didn’t do, and is imprisoned in a detention center in Queens.  Walter tries to get him released with the help of Tarek’s mother, who has come from Michigan. 

            During a visit with Walter at the detention center, Tarek reminds the audience what it used to mean to be American.  Everyone who came to the US was an immigrant.  Now, wanting a better life and coming to this country is a crime.  Not everyone is a terrorist if they come from the Middle East or Northern Africa.

            This is a well made film as well as an important one and one that has required me to add another category to this blog.  Thomas McCarthy has made this a most excellent follow-up to his indie film, The Station Agent.

 

The Visitor

2007

 

IMPORTANT FILM