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89 of 98 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mother's milk heals all family squabbles!, January 28, 2004
After viewing "Audition" and "Ichi the Killer," I doubted whether Japanese director Takashi Miike could shock me again. Boy, was I wrong! If you thought the piano wire scene in "Audition" went far beyond the pale, or the hot oil bath in "Ichi the Killer" left you speechless--as it did me--prepare yourself for the new nightmare that is "Visitor Q." The scenes in this film about a twisted Japanese family would make the Marquis de Sade leave the room in disgust. I have no idea what Miike was thinking when he made this film, but remember this one little fact--"Visitor Q" is a made for television movie. That's right, after viewing this movie remind yourself that this obscenity aired on Japanese television within the last couple of years. We Americans cannot put forth any prime time fodder that could even remotely compare to this atrocity, unless you count something like "Teletubbies." Thank goodness we still have a few qualms. As much as I distrust censorship of any type, I am definitely not ready to see something like "Visitor Q" on network television on this side of the pond. "Visitor Q" takes a penetrating look at your typical Japanese middle class family, Miike style. The father of this bizarre clan works as a reality television host who is always willing to go so far over the line in his broadcasts that his fellow workers shun the his very presence. The daughter of the family no longer lives at home since she is too busy putting in a full schedule at a brothel somewhere in town. The young son in this creepy household spends his days meekly submitting to a trio of bullies who beat him up after school. The mother is a real winner, a heroin addict and prostitute who allows her abused son to beat her with wicker canes. The mother and father fail to communicate on any substantive level. The son's problems with the bullies goes unheeded by the family, except when the father decides to fashion a new reality program centering on his child's beatings. The relationship between the father and his daughter is best left unelaborated on here; it is sufficient to say it is one of the most warped father/daughter connections in film history. Yes, this family suffers a host of psychological problems that would give a Sigmund Freud a coronary. All of these people are sick to the core of their souls, a problem that is about to undergo a radical change with the introduction of a complete stranger into the household. This anonymous (we never learn his name), scruffy looking youth first makes an appearance on the scene when he hits the father of the family on the head with a rock--twice. For some mysterious reason, dad brings this guy home with him for dinner. As time goes by, we see this chap increasingly integrate himself into the daily lives of the family. He sets his sights on the mother at first, rekindling a sense of motherhood in the woman in yet another unmentionable scene (there are a lot of unmentionable events in this movie). The interaction between the stranger and the mother is the most dramatic in the film, but eventually the father, son, and even daughter all fall under the spell of this enigmatic visitor. The end result of these odd encounters is a type of peculiar healing, where the family abandons their insane behavior and returns to a sense of normalcy. Obviously, "Visitor Q" is a Miike film, so the healing takes some really stomach churning turns along the way. After all, there is nothing like dismemberment and a host of other depravities to turn a family around! There has been some effort to emphasize the reality television elements of the film, but "Visitor Q" has little to do with this theme. There are only a few scenes that even deal with this element, specifically the first taboo shattering images between the father and daughter and a couple of other short bits later in the movie. What is really going on here has to do with the Japanese family and how it deals with the pressures of modern life in an industrialized society. Miike likes to shock with his films, and his target audience must surely have expressed such an emotion when they saw his take on a traditional Japanese family plagued with so many obnoxious psychopathologies. As weird as it sounds, I firmly believe "Visitor Q" is actually an extremely conservative film. Even as the director breaks the bounds of good taste, he seems to possess an earnest belief in the overriding importance of the healthy family unit. You could easily make the argument that images of the type indulged in by Miike have led to the breakdown of the family, and it would be an effective argument, but this movie does contain a strong pro-family theme. "Visitor Q" runs for about eighty four minutes, short compared to the other two Miike films I have seen. The picture quality is excellent. Extras on the DVD include four trailers--"Visitor Q," "Samurai Fiction," "Fudoh," and "Freeze Me"--some liner notes about Miike's films and a short biography about the director. Once again, Media Blasters has released another soul shattering movie to DVD. The disc I watched had a technical problem, though: whenever I hit the menu button on my remote control the picture went gray and I had to start the disc over again. Perhaps this flaw appeared only on my copy of the movie, but it's something to think about before purchasing if it is a widespread glitch. I look forward to watching more Miike mayhem in the near future. If you would like to examine this director's queasy visions, "Visitor Q" is the ideal starting place before moving on to the more complex "Audition."
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Putting the fun back in dysfunctional!, August 6, 2006
Right of the bat, this movie is not for everyone. It opens with an intertitle announcing nonchalantly, and I quote, "Have you ever f*cked your father?". Seeing this written simply on the screen, you start to look around the theater to try to ascertain other people's reaction. You feel slightly uncomfortable. You wonder if your presence at the movie is a testament of your perversity. As the scene progress and it becomes eminent that this little girl is indeed going to have sex with her father, you feel a genuine unease. You even wonder if other member of the audience will simply stand up and leave... but everyone remains seated. They watch the act play itself out. It looks so real!! Who in the world filmed this? Is this a movie or did it really happened?
Then you realize that the reason nobody left, was that they were all glued in their seat. Frozen. The scene was so intense! And then... the laughter starts. An unsure, reluctant laugh. Should I laugh? Is this funny? Is this sick? Distasteful? Sad? The answer is: this is human nature. Some of us do this. Some never do, but nonetheless have the urge to do some of these things. We are not all as neat, conformist, lawful, respectful, righteous as some might think. We have a dark side. This film shows us this dark side. Simply, honestly, and with great care not to be afraid to go too far.
This film is extremely daring. It depicts acts that are not only illegal and to most (I sincerely hope) immoral, but that are also very passionate and intimately linked to who we are. Seeing this on screen allows us a glimpse into this forbidden world. It is as though we are actually committing these atrocities vicariously, and if not, are at least silent witnesses. But we enjoy it. Yes, why do we enjoy it so much? Because, like it or not, it is part of us, somewhere deep (very deep) inside, we understand these fellow humans.
So behind the shock value and the constant disturbing images thrown at the spectators, there lies a deep analysis of human drives that is quite revealing and to the point. This film is like a case study in a scientific experiment. Between the sex, between the violence, we find the motivations and reasons for this decadence. For some it may require more courage than others, but we owe it to ourselves to watch... to learn.
This film is not as dark as you might imagine it to be. That is what is so surprising about it. The incorporation of humor and absurdity in hateful and abject displays. The situations are in fact quite funny, even hilarious. The people are real persons that you might even come to like. The story is somewhat sweet, heartfelt. So come in open-minded, let go of your inhibitions, of your own self-censorship, and enjoy it!! Laugh, cry, let your stomach turn a little and feel like you've experienced something never before experienced. This is what novelty is all about.
The first scene is just the tip of the iceberg compared to the rest of the movie, but I would spoil the fun by telling you what you are about to see, just go ahead and see it. Expect nothing. Expect anything.
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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A touching celebration of family values, February 3, 2003
A subversive fable from the brilliant Takashi Miike, Visitor Q is some kind of demented masterpiece. I detect diverse influences here, from Bunuel (his delight in mocking bourgeois values) to Kubrick (static, symmetrical compositions) to absurdism and surrealist film in general. Miike presents us with a family that gives new meaning to the word "dysfunctional." The father is a TV reporter so desperate for sensational topics to tackle that he videotapes himself having sex with his prostitute daughter. He placidly eats his supper while his teenage son whips and beats the mother, who also works as a prostitute. One day the father brings home a mysterious guest (the titular Visitor, although his name is never given) who casually exerts an almost godlike power over the family, bringing them together in a most unexpected manner. The film is very funny at times, sometimes in an almost slapstick way, sometimes in a VERY dark, twisted way. There's plenty of room for debate. Who or what is Visitor Q? What exactly has he done and what does it say about the nature of familial love? This daring film will haunt you for days after seeing it.
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