Stephen recommended this film in comments after I talked about movies like National Treasure and Prince Caspian. ;)
So, the other night, I decided to go see it. I was the only one in the theater. (by the way, the next time I get tagged I'm using "I like to go the movies by myself" as one of the weird things about me) Of course it was Tuesday night and the Lakers were playing (more like getting killed) in the NBA finals. It's too bad, though, because this film was an absolute treat.
In case you've never heard of it (like I hadn't) The Visitor is about a man who is sort of just existing and not really living. He gets forced to go to New York City to present a paper (he's a professor) and when he gets to his apartment there he finds some illegal immigrants living in it. He feels sorry enough for them to allow them stay for awhile. I don't want to say much more, except that this is a beautiful film about finding life again, risking to love someone (not necessarily romantically), and the dignity of humanity. The characters were exquisitely portrayed...the kind of characters you sort of wish could be your friends in real life..not because they were super cool, but because they were so real. And there were many moments in the film that felt true.
So go see it if you like or wait for it on DVD. It's the sort of story that pulls you in slowly and grabs your heart. Highly Recommended.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Film: The Visitor
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Amy, I'm so glad you got to see it. I'm working on a review of this and The Flight of the Red Balloon for the Rabbit Room, so hopefully I'll have time to finish it soon.
Halfway through the movie, I was afraid it was becoming A Very Important Movie about Current Events, and I was so glad when it ended up not being that. And the last shot in the movie is one of my all-time favorite closing shots. This movie is the best representation I've seen on the big screen of my favorite quote about art, (paraphrased from Jeffrey Overstreet's Through a Screen Darkly), "Music is like one of those programs you run on your computer to optimize your hard drive: it heals a million little things you didn't even know where broken."
I look forward to your reviews, I'm sure they will be much more in-depth!
I love that quote. Have you had that on your blog before?
Post a Comment