[KFCC] Visitor Q Review

Story: Kiyoshi a failed TV show reporter, was sent on vacation a few months ago. Even with this slight set back Kiyoshi is still determined to do a documentary about sex and violence among the youth. He is so focused on his project that he exploits his family's problems to create material for his documentary. One day a mysterious stranger arrives and he moves in with the family, little do they know that this stranger will change their lives forever.

Review: Visitor Q has to be one of the most interesting films I have seen in a long time. This movie focuses on the topic of various social taboos such as: drug-use, incest or prostitution but these are only the tip of the iceberg. You'll probably be blinking in disbelief for the first 10 minutes of the movie, you'll see many things on screen that would have never imaged ever being shown in a movie. The movie is about a family with some seriously messed up issues. That is where the social taboo's come into play. Visitor Q reminded me a little bit about an American movie called Happiness but unlike this movie Visitor Q seems to present these horrible topics with a humorous undertone. Soon as the initial uneasiness wears off you'll be laughing at some of the things happening in the movie, I am serious.

Takashi Miike, one of the most creative Japanese directors out there, brought this innovative little delight to us. He seems to have an unending supply of imaginative ideas, many of them that push the boundaries and could be considered controversial. You have to respect someone with the balls of creating and releasing a movie such as this. The look and feel of this movie is a little different, one reason is the use of digital camera vs. the usual film camera. The camera angles are very simplistic, this adds a certain " I am there " feeling of realism. You will at first glance see that this movie is different from rest.

There are some interesting characters in this movie, much of the focus is on the family (father, mother, son and daughter). Each of these 4 characters have some sort of issues in their lives, be it some sort of obsessive compulsion or substance abuse. The 5th main character is Visitor Q, he is a character that somehow makes everything right by his presence (he does not say or do much). These characters are the reason why this movie is so good, it is their interactions with each other that brings to life those taboos. The progression of the family from its state in the beginning to the end of the movie is one wild ride.

The entertainment value behind Visitor Q is a combination of shock value and twisted humour. 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. Maybe its just me and I am twisted and find these kind of things funny but everyone who I had the chance to see this movie with either found it funny or at least interesting. There is one blooper that you will spot in the movie and is kind of funny to see, in one or two scenes you actually see the boom mike hanging over the heads of the actors.

This movie makes me wonder what is good or bad taste in entertainment, as a culture our views on entertainment are evolving quickly, forever pushing that acceptable limit. Many of the things we consider good entertainment would have caused shock and upset 50 years ago. Visitor Q just pushes that limit further and there will be other things in the future that would shock us now but by then will be common place. If you look back at the Roman period of history, one of the biggest forms of entertainment then was to watch people hack themselves to pieces. Let go of any guilt you may have and just sit back and enjoy Visitor Q. We recommend this movie to people with open minds, if you enjoy dark comedies then that is a bonus.