Visitor Q (2001) (V) Bijitâ Q (original title)

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writer:

Itaru Era

Release Date:

26 November 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

The only thing stranger than this family is... Visitor Q.

Plot:

A troubled and perverted family find their lives intruded by a mysterious stranger who seems to help find a balance in their disturbing natures.

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Stranger | Prostitute | Reporter | Violence

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Ken'ichi Endô	...	Kiyoshi Yamazaki / Father
Shungiku Uchida	...	Keiko Yamazaki / Mother
Kazushi Watanabe	...	The visitor
Jun Mutô	...	Takuya Yamazaki / Son
Fujiko	...	Miki Yamazaki / Daughter
Shôko Nakahara	...	Asako Murata
Ikko Suzuki	...	Sasaoka

Directed by
Takashi Miike

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Itaru Era		(as Era)

Produced by
Reiko Arakawa	....	producer
Hisanori Endô	....	executive producer
Seiichiro Kobayashi	....	producer
Susumu Nakajima	....	producer
Akira Saitô	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Kôji Endô

Cinematography by
Hideo Yamamoto

Film Editing by
Yasushi Shimamura

Production Design by
Yutaka Uki

Makeup Department
Hiroko Miyata	....	hair stylist

Sound Department
Yoshiya Obara	....	sound

Production Companies

• Alphaville
• CineRocket

Distributors

• Pretty Pictures (2002) (France) (theatrical)
• CineRocket (2001) (Japan)
• Exciting Grand Prix (2007) (Japan) (TV)
• Gold View Company Ltd. (international)
• KSS (Japan) (VHS)
• Media Blasters
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Rapid Eye Movies (2001) (Germany) (all media)
• Siren Visual Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• Tartan Video (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Trustech Japan Co. Ltd. (prints)

Also Known As:

"Bijitâ Q" - Japan (original title)
"Love Cinema Vol. 6" - International (English title) (series title)
"Visitor Q+" - USA (reissue title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong aberrant sexual and violent content, language and drug use

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Japan:R-18 | New Zealand:R18 (with restriction) | France:-16 | Germany:18 | USA:R | UK:18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Australia:R | Singapore:(Banned)

Company:

Alphaville

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: Minute 1:24:06 (in the dinning room while the father, son, and the guest are having their dinner), the boom mic is totally visible and continues for a while.

Quotes:

Takuya Yamazaki:[to the Visitor, lying in pool of milk] From today on, I'm going to study. I have entrance exams next year.
The visitor:Is that so?
Takuya Yamazaki:Why did you really come to our home? You came here to destroy it, didn't you? I thought so all along.
[they smile at each other]
Takuya Yamazaki:Thank you.

Movie Connections:

References Nekromantik (1987)

Even viewers familiar with Miike's other bizarre movies will be unprepared for this! I think in decades to come it will regarded as a milestone and spoken of in the same breath as Bunuel, Jodorowsky, Lynch a

I've seen over half a dozen Takashi Miike movies, so I'm aware of how bizarre his output can be, but nothing can quite prepare you for how extreme 'Visitor Q' is! In the last decade Miike has gone from straight to video crime thrillers to genre-busting arthouse cult favourites by following his own unique vision. He's also breathtakingly prolific, having completed around twenty projects since this, which was released only three years ago(!) Miike's best known movies in the last few years include the ultra-violent live action manga 'Ichi The Killer', the slow psychological thriller 'Audition', and the zany, feel good zombie musical 'The Happiness Of The Katakuris'. Those three movies alone prove he is the most exciting and innovative director working today, but 'Visitor Q' takes him to a whole new level. 'Pink Flamingos' meets 'Salo' meets reality TV on crack(?) However you try and describe this movie it just won't be adequate. When I say you just have to see it to believe it, I'm not just taking in cliches! 'Visitor Q' is shot on digital video in a pseudo-documentary style. In the opening scene we see a middle aged man (Kenicho Endo, who you might recognize from Miike's 'Dead Or Alive 2') inadvertently videotaping himself having sex with a teenage prostitute. They are in fact father and daughter. This is just the beginning of a very strange trip for the viewer! The father is a failed TV reporter who comes up with a new program idea about bullying using his own teenage son (Jun Muto), who is being victimized by his classmates and in turn abuses his own mother (Shungiku Uchida). She is secretly addicted to heroin and turns tricks to support her habit. Into this ultra-dysfunctional family comes a mysterious visitor (Kazushi Watanabe) who we are introduced to when we see him brain the father with a rock. Exactly who or what the visitor is is never explained, but his presence effects the family in various odd ways, strangely bringing them closer together. His character reminded me a bit of the messiah figures in Coffin Joe's 'Finis Hominis' or J.G. Ballard's 'The Unlimited Dream Company'. 'Visitor Q' slowly creeps up on you with images of abuse and abnormal behavior until around the three quarter mark when you are left staring slack jawed at the screen not quite believing what you are seeing! When the movie cuts between Father in the greenhouse and Mother in the kitchen with Visitor Q (I won't/can't go into details!) it's the most extraordinary sequence I've watched in any movie EVER! It goes with saying that 'Visitor Q' is not for most people, but if you appreciate the surreal and the confrontational, then this is one movie you MUST see. I think in decades to come it will regarded as a milestone and spoken of in the same breath as Bunuel, Jodorowsky, Lynch and Cronenberg.