Item Description
Anchorbay The Visitor (Blu-ray)In a world of six billionpeople, it only takes one to change your life. Inactor and filmmaker Tom McCarthy's follow-up to his award winning directorial debut film "The Station Agent", Richard Jenkins ("Six Feet Under") stars as a disillusioned Connecticut economics professor whose life is transformed by a chance encounterin New York City. Sixty-two-year-old Walter Vale is sleepwalking through his life. Having lost his passion for teaching and writing, he fills the void by unsuccessfully trying to learn to play classical piano. When his college sends him to Manhattanto attend a conference, Walter is surprised to find a young couple has taken up residence in his apartment. Victims of a real estate scam, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman), a Syrian man, and Zainab (Danai Gurira), his Senegalese girlfriend, have nowhere else togo. In the first of a series of tests of the heart, Walter reluctantly allows the couple to stay with him. Touched by his kindness, Tarek, a talentedmusician, insists on teaching the aging academic to play the African drum. The instrument's exuberant rhythms revitalize Walter's faltering spirit and open his eyes to a vibrant world of local jazz clubs and Central Park drum circles. As the friendship between the two men deepens, the differences in culture, age and temperament fall away. After being stopped by police in the subway, Tarek is arrested as an undocumented citizen and held for deportation. As his situation turns desperate, Walter finds himself compelled to help his new friend witha passion he thought he had long ago lost. When Tarek's beautiful mother Mouna (Hiam Abbass) arrives unexpectedly in search of her son, the professor's personal commitment develops into an unlikely romance. It's through these newfound connections with three virtual strangers that Walter is awakenedto a new world and a new life.
Product Details
- Publisher: ANCHOR BAY
- Product Group: DVD
- Manufacturer: ANCHOR BAY
- Binding: Blu-ray
- Brand: Anchorbay
- Item Dimensions:
- Weight: 100
- Package Dimensions:
- Dimensions: 670L x 530W x 50H
- Weight: 20
- List Price: $39.98
- UPC: 013138304582
- ASIN: B001C0NMUC
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Customer Reviews
Average Amazon User Rating: 
The Visitor
2009-08-05
Reviewer: P. Leong
Great story line & loved the actors in the movie. Only regret was the unexpecting ending to the story.
captivating
2009-07-28
Reviewer: Ann-Maria Fleming
I didn't know what to expect watching this movie but was pleasntly suprised. Walter was soo dull and boring even when he was introduced to the music but I wasn't disappointed by that, I was amused. It's not til the end that you get to see alot of emotion from him and it was wonderful to see. The other characters were lovely and forced you to feel compassion for their immigration stories. I loved the ending but I still felt unsatisfied as to what happened to all the characters which is why I gave it a 4 instead of a 5.
A Little Gem
2009-07-02
Reviewer: O Shepard
Discovering a little gem like 'The Visitor' is what what the enjoyment of the art of storytelling in film is all about. A simple story of cross culture, immigration, and loneliness, the screenplay carries us into the vastly understated lives of of the four main characters; Walter Vale, the lonely introverted widower who has lost meaning in his life; Tarek, the lively and life positive illegal from Syria; Zainab, Tarek's all too human Sengalese girlfriend, and Mouna, Tarek's mother, whose painful past life and future hopes are always visible in her eyes.
What makes this film unique is that the film shows the viewer story elements by exclusion, by what is NOT said, by the moments of silence between characters, by the incidents of realistically portrayed uncomfortable conversations between the characters. The viewer feels as if he is eavesdropping on real people who live in a multicultural environment. This method of storytelling is more European than American and will make the film overly long for some despite its short length. But it strikes the right chord anyway and makes the final 2 scenes with Walter all the more powerful as a result.
An excellent performance by Richard Jenkins, a previously under-rated second tier actor.
Cold Walter warms up
2009-06-29
Reviewer: Pat
Cold Walter warms up via music. Wonderful views of New York City and its Immigrant scene. Richard Jenkins, (6 Feet Under), excels as the empty shell of a man who blossoms with the help of the most likeable Tarek, played by Haaz Sleiman, and music.
TERRIFIC MOVIE!
2009-06-26
Reviewer: Soul Bird
This movie has a lot of heart with wonderful performances by all. Richard Jenkins as the college professor, who discovers a pair of illegal aliens living in his New York apartment, should have won an oscar for his very touching portrayal. The professor becomes friends with them, which includes a young Syrian musician and his Sengalese girlfriend. What develops is that the bored professor is enlightened by the young Syrian musician who teaches the professor how to play drums. Complications arise and the Syrian musician is taken in by immigration authorities. During these tense times the professor meets the Syrian musician's mother, whom he comforts and has a relationship with. This is a realistic movie filled with human emotions very sensitively presented.
