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The Visitor | 
 enlarge | Director: Tom Mccarthy
Actors: Richard Jenkins, Hazz Sleiman, Hiam Abbas
Studio: ANCHOR BAY
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy Used: $6.40
You Save: $23.58 (79%)
New (48) Used (23) Collectible (1) from $6.40
Rating:  93 reviews
Sales Rank: 295
Format: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Hifi Sound, Surround Sound, Thx, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 104
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: ANBD80008D
UPC: 013138000897
EAN: 0013138000897
ASIN: B0015OKWKI
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: October 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
Walter is a disaffected college professor who has been drifting aimlessly through his life. When in a chance encounter to nyc walter discovers a couple has taken up residence in his apartment in the city he develops an unexpected & profound connection that will change his life forever. Studio: Starz/sphe Release Date: 10/07/2008 Starring: Richard Jenkins Run time: 108 minutes Rating: Pg13
Amazon.com
A deeply moving drama built around longtime character actor Richard Jenkins, The Visitor is a simmering drama about a college professor and recent widower, Walter Vale (Jenkins), who discovers a pair of homeless, illegal aliens living in his New York apartment. After the mix-up is resolved, Vale invites the couple--a young, Syrian musician named Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and his Senegalese girlfriend (Danai Gurira--to stay with him. An unlikely friendship develops between the retiring, quiet Vale and the vital Tarek, and the former begins to loosen up and respond to Tarek's drumming lessons as if something in him waiting to be liberated has finally arrived. All goes well until Tarek is hauled in by immigration authorities and threatened with deportation. His mother, Mouna (Hiam Abbass), turns up and stays with Vale, sparking a renewed if subdued interest in courtship. But the wheels of injustice in immigration crush all manner of hopes in post-9/11 America. Vale soon realizes his unexpected capacity for anger over Tarek's plight, and the positive changes to his personal life that emerged from a deep involvement with his friend and Mouna, might be the only legacy he takes from this experience. Writer-director Thomas McCarthy has created a wonderfully measured story about change and renewal, and put it all on the shoulders of Jenkins, a largely unheralded but masterful performer whose time for renown has surely come. --Tom Keogh
Stills from The Visitor (click for larger image) Beyond The Visitor 
On Blu-ray | 
Soundtrack CD | 
Also directed by Tom McCarthy |
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| Customer Reviews: Read 88 more reviews...
 Amateurish Screenplay Always Means Bad Movie January 9, 2009
I play djembe drums and have studied classical cello so I was all primed to like this movie. What a letdown. The screenplay was so flimsy and lacking in originality, made some rookie mistakes, no amount of good acting can fix that. First of all, this is essentially a story about characters who all seem to like each other and agree with each other all the time. That's great for real life, but makes for a boring story. The characters lack any real complexity. The hero is the uptight white guy who needs to learn to relax and enjoy life and connect w/ people. Wow, how original a premise. And then a woman comes along and, surprise surprise, they develop a crush on each other.
The dialogue is insufferably bad. People are always telling each other what we just saw happened in the previous scene. Or they're arranging to meet or call each other. This is called padding, when a screenwriter is trying to fill up pages.
The story's villain is the US government bureaucracy that wants to deport our hero's friend who is an illegal alien. The friend was given a proceeding to make his case and lost, but we never learn whether he had a good case or why he was turned down. So what point is the screenwriter trying to make?And as a storyteller the writer doesn't understand how to use conflict (two character's or entities with conflicting goals) to move a story forward and make the plot interesting. I rarely give a movie 2 stars, but I'm being generous here because the actors did their very best with weak material.
 We need more movies like this January 8, 2009
I absolutely liked THE VISITOR.
The lead actor, Richard Jenkins, does a great job, playing it low key, yet very believable and powerful. I love honesty in actors.
Director Tom McCarthy gives us a touching and thoughtful experience.
Moviemaking and the experience of movie watching is becoming more internationally intertwined. Cutting away from formula.
And we'll all benefit from it.
Great to see movies like this coming out! December 29, 2008
THE VISITOR made a strong impression on me.
I loved the "Buddy Picture" aspect of the film.
The direction by Tom McCarthy is honest, sensitive and very smart.
Richard Jenkins gives a very subtle and moving performance. It is realy great to see actors delivering these kinds of performances and to allow the story to tell the story!
The same goes for the intelligent performance by Hiam Abbass, who is compelling to watch.
Hazz Sleiman is also great to watch as Abbas's congo playing son.
What a joy for filmmakers to be making movies out of the norm. We may be witnessing a true rebirth of "independent" movie making.
A Very Good, Sensitive Film with Excellent Performances December 28, 2008
A very good film about a college professor (played wonderfully by Richard Jenkins), who is going through the motions, particularly after the death of his wife. He awakens to life, when he establishes a relationship with three illegal immigrants from Syria and Senegal, and helps one who is facing deportation. Excellent performances by all the actors, and a sensitive, well written script by Thomas McCarthy (who also directed). The DVD has a good extra, with interviews with McCarthy and the main actors.
Politically motivated film December 27, 2008
1 out of 9 found this review helpful
Enter the United States of America legally and then obey the laws of the United States of America and you won't be deported. So I really didn't have empathy for the situation. The acting was terrific. Action slow and sometimes tedious.
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