[.ca] Visitor Q (Full Screen)

The horrors of family dysfunction:
When the outside world fails us, whether it's dealing with a crap job day after day or a love life that goes nowhere or rejection in various forms we often turn to our family. For many of us the family is a safety nest, a sanctuary of saneness where we can escape the pressures of every day life. That's why films dealing with the disintegration of the family unit have been so shocking and unfathomable to me. What happens when even our family nest is destroyed and all that we thought was dear is shattered to pieces? I have seen some pretty disturbing cinematic examples in the past, most notably "Cutting Moments" and "Combat Shock" that had me asking the question what if, could this ever happen to me and my family? Takashi Miike takes the concept of family dysfunction to new extremes with Visitor Q. Visitor Q examines a Japanese family with more problems than you could shake a stick at. The movie opens up with a young prostitute and a middle-aged man engaging in intercourse in front of a home-video camera. Throughout the act, the man keeps expressing remorse and doubt about what he is doing. Remorse for what, cheating on his wife? Nope, turns out the prostitute is actually his daughter. After this disturbing act that lasts not long, the lady taunts her own father with cries of "early bird!" and charges him 100 000Yen for the act, way more then he can afford. No problem, the girl says just give the rest of the sum to mom once you have it. Incest is the first of many atrocious acts committed by this family. Throughout the course of the movie the viewer is submitted to various scenes of necrophilia and domestic violence. Most bizarre is the young teenaged boy who continuously whips and beats up his mom, a crack addict and herself a prostitute. Mom doesn't seem to mind too much though and even encourages the boy to beat her up even harder as long as it's not on her face. Visitor Q has a cheap Snuff-film kind of look to it and I wouldn't be surprised if Miike had filmed this with an 8mm camera, it certainly looks that way. If Miike's sole intent with Visitor Q was to shock the viewer with as many outlandish images as possible than this can be considered a success. However, I found this film to be quite lacking on an emotional level. The family and their disturbing actions are presented in such a hollow way that the viewer doesn't even feel any sympathy towards them. The family members themselves seem to be quite satisfied with their current lifestyles. There is only one exception in the form of a scene where the young woman who works as a prostitute sits on her bed in her room and holds a stuffed animal in her hands. There is a glimmer in her eyes that suggests that better days used to exist for her. It would have been nice to see fragments of the family's past so that we could answer the following questions: Has this family always been this screwed up? If not then what led them to become this way? What is the purpose of them holding a video camera and wanting to tape all of their atrocities? Miike never bothers offering any answers. Visitor Q works well as long as it's taken strictly for what it is intended to be: a piece of exploitation filmmaking. It doesn't challenge on any emotional level the way Audition does, it's just a forum to throw as many shocking scenes in the viewer's way. Or is it perhaps meant as a social commentary on the ever-increasing absurdities of reality TV? Or a portrait of the changing dynamics of a Japanese society that has over the last couple of decades increasingly become attuned to the ways of the American models of entertainment and capitalism? It's open to our own interpretation but one thing's for sure, Miike never fails to shock or to challenge.

\o3.5\c--Who are some of these actors?,:
Visitor Q" is an extraordinary film. At first I was worried by the use of cinematography because it looked cheap and crappy to me but then I noticed the angles that the director was employing and his abundant technique. Of all Miike's flicks this one ought to be among the most weirdest, psychological ones. I guess the main topic would be: what are we supposed to feel. And that's what Miike succeeds to evoke in us, the viewers. I really find myself having a hard time finding the words to describe what I've just seen and experienced. I find this film somehow to be beautiful in a disturbed way. I had to avert my eyes at points. I have never liked needles. MIIKE seems to love them. The use of the hypodermic syringe was used brilliantly in his film "Audition". A classic of modern Cinema in my opinion. The creativity in "Visitor Q" is boundless, slightly sick, I grant you, yet assured and beautifully acted. This is a strong film. The ideas are warped and the execution is masterful. As the story advances in this movie various taboos come to life (the shock factor), the way things are presented is a little humorous. If you are pretty open-minded and don't take things to seriously you are going to start laughing at some of the situations that transpires in this movie. Takashi Miike is a very talented filmmaker. He bears his soul with a project like "Visitor Q" and that is rare and brave. I mentioned acting earlier and find myself asking, "How far did these actors go?" History has shown that the first actors were prostitutes. I sometimes wonder at the actors that walk the red carpet and ask, "What has changed?" Actors will do anything a director asks. This cast must have had great faith in their Director and great trust. The acting is faultless. At one point I did make the comparison with another great film "Man Bites Dog" because I found my self-laughing at situations so real and horrifying. That feeling is strange and I'm not sure I like it. Unexpected situations give birth to even more unexpected results during all movies and I cannot criticize this film in anyway. You probably might fine the cinematography a little bit amateurish as I did but the imagination overcomes any limitation when it comes to "Visitor Q". If you decide to watch/purchase this film take caution about the level of disturbance that's being exposed here with all the violence, gore, necrophilia, and kinkiness laid out to you.

The Worst movie I've ever seen:
I must say, Takashi Miike; the director of this film is a very disturbed individual. I feel like this was made only to shock and disgust people. other than that, there's absolutely nothing to it. From a Japanese female point of view, I was very offended and disgusted by the story. This film is SICK - I would not recommend it.

Takashi Miike AT HIS WORST:
This movie was Garbage...I though Vistor Q was going to be great but instead I got garbage...Its stupid and yet disturbing...Trash.... Very bad...THis movies plot was just as stupid as the film...DO NOT GET THIS FILM!!! -0000000/5 stars

Don't waste your time with this nonsense:
Although slightly disturbing and gross, this film is fairly pointless and boring. I love original and somewhat strange films, however this film (despite the ongoing incest and other taboo behavior throughout the film) is senseless and almost boring. In fact I could barely sit through the entire movie, not because it was disturbing, but rather because I was about to fall asleep! I understand the concept completely, but I don't find that it helps in the least...I do agree with one thing in other reviews, the quality of this film is very poor. However I would also add that the acting is also atrocious! Overall, I would never recommend this film to anyone, unless perhaps they were suffering from sleep depravation!