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Must Go!
Written May 13, 2008
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.
- 29 out of 41 found this review helpful.
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Written May 16, 2008
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 wifeand re-discovers life from a dimension he has never known. Accept the slow pace...and don't drink caffine prior to viewing.
- 29 out of 45 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written May 12, 2008
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.
- 21 out of 32 found this review helpful.
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Written May 6, 2008
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.
- 20 out of 32 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written July 5, 2008
"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...
- 11 out of 14 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written May 15, 2008
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.
- 22 out of 37 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written May 6, 2008
the Visitor

by standard31

Just great. Academy winning performance.
- 20 out of 34 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written July 7, 2008
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.
- 10 out of 14 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written May 4, 2008
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.
- 23 out of 40 found this review helpful.
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Written July 9, 2008
The Visitor

by shartist

An important film with an important message, and very well acted. The pace is deliberately slow in parts which fits perfectly with the mood of the subject matter. Topical and informative.
- 6 out of 7 found this review helpful.
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Written May 25, 2008
The Visitor - A good film that should have been a great film

by apnelson

I wanted to see this film because the trailer actually brought tears to my eyes. Unfortunately, it also pretty much captured almost all of the great moments. So the film became a drawn out version of the trailer. The story was poignant, and certainly timely. Having known several people in similar situation (I won't reveal more to avoid the same mistake the trailer made), I would have liked to see it capture more of the intensity of emotional hold it has on everyone. Instead, everyone seemed to walk around in a stilted state of shock and trauma. Although it did come across somewhat, it is a very difficult emotional state to portray in films. Despite this, it was easy to see and feel the story from each main character's point of view. The ending left me wanting to see more, which is always a sign of a good movie to me. I would recommend it, but try to avoid previewing the trailer first.
- 10 out of 15 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written May 24, 2008
Review for THE VISITOR

by nancycardena

I liked this movie very much Such a reflection of so many American men who have been taught to keep their emotions inside and to comply with what is expected, and not necessarily doing what their heart wants them to do. Very well acted, I found all the characters believable and well suited for their parts. Very nicely told story and it was so heart warming to see the main character finally open up his soul and try what he really wanted to do. We could all learn from this movie.
- 13 out of 21 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written May 26, 2008
A Human Movie

by Marielwing

This is one of the best films I've seen so far this year! Every character is completely believable and appealing, leading me to care sincerely what happens to each of them. The relationships that develop are nuanced. There is humor, tenderness, sadness, anger, frustration, joy. The ending is poignant but hopeful, and certainly not tidy. Great acting by every one of the main characters. See this movie!!
- 10 out of 15 found this review helpful.
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Must Go!
Written May 11, 2008
An honest film filled with emotional moments

by mr1movieobsession

I had watched the trailer for this and was taken by the plot and film track. To my disappointment, the movie had limited engagements. Then I saw it had opened in one of my favorite theaters nearby and off I went. I loved the movie. I thought the widowed professor who was played by Richard Jenkins did a wonderful job of portraying a lonely man with a lonely life. His kindness and desire to help people he didn't even know grew out of his intense loneliness and emptiness and this offered needed distraction from his boring job. This was totally believable to me. Great script and supporting cast. I would like to see a Visitor 2 because the ending was not how I wanted the movie to end. Anyone who enjoys seeing people help others will enjoy this movie. I definitely recommend it.
- 19 out of 33 found this review helpful.
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Written June 24, 2008
Go visit The Visitor

by gogirl

This was a good, thinking person's movie. Not an entertainment only flick. I recommend it to anyone who needs exposure to a non-traditional aspect of immigration. Skip the popcorn.
- 10 out of 15 found this review helpful.
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