Visitor Q (2001)

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

Director:

Takashi Miike

Writer:

Itaru Era (as Era)

Stars:

Ken'ichi Endô, Shungiku Uchida, Kazushi Watanabe

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview:
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
Ikkô Suzuki	...	Sasaoka (as Ikko Suzuki)

Storyline

A father, who is a failed former television reporter tries to mount a documentary about violence and sex among youths. He proceeds to have sex with his daughter who is now a prostitute and films his son being humiliated and hit by classmates. "Q", a perfect stranger somehow gets involved and enter the bizzare family who's son beats his mom, who in turn is also a prostitute and a heroin addict...

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Plot Keywords:

mysterious stranger | cult film | incestuous desire | dead children | child murder | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

26 November 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Visitor Q+

Box Office

Budget:

JPY 7,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alphaville, CineRocket

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

(at around 17 mins) Boom mic visible when the mother removes her clothes in the bedroom.

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Quotes

Kiyoshi Yamazaki: [as the bullies throw fireworks at the house] They're here! Everyone, can you see this? Can you see this?
[taping with camera]
Kiyoshi Yamazaki: This is my home! My home! Did you see that? The big strong bullies are here!
[pans to Keiko]
Kiyoshi Yamazaki: This is my wife! She's a lovely little wife! Dinner was delicious! This is...
[pans to the Visitor]
Kiyoshi Yamazaki: ... I don't know who this is, we're not acquainted! Watch! It's amazing, truly amazing! What a scene! It's unbelievable!
[going back to the fireworks, panning to knife in floor]
Kiyoshi Yamazaki: My ...
[...]

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Connections

Follows Tokyo Trash Baby (2000)

User Reviews

The key is in the movie itself

Amazing movie playing around with the idea of reality TV, voyeurism and even the nature of reality itself.

Among all the scenes -- of which there are many many memorable ones -- I thought the one which has the key to the movie is when the father is frantically taping the attack on his house and speaking at the same time and among a frenzy of "reporter-talk" he says,

"What are we supposed to feel?"

The key to the movie is, you are never allowed to know what you are supposed to feel. These days, in movies and TV, we are frequently "told" what to feel. Takashi Miike takes this and pulls the carpet from under all of us. he builds his film around the phenomenon of TV/media, emotion-building, exposing, exploiting... Yet keeps this tension through the movie and does not allow us for a moment to settle in our armchairs, does not for one moment let us get into that comfy zone of being told what to feel.

And hence watching this movie becomes this eerie, stressful process as noted by everyone else. Am i disgusted, indignant, amused, sympathetic, angry, confused? You are never told. You have to go through it on your own. And that is the point.