The Visitor (2007/I)

Regista:

Thomas McCarthy

Sceneggiatore:

Thomas McCarthy (screenplay)

Data di uscita:

18 aprile 2008 (USA)

Genere:

Comedy | Drama

Slogan:

Connection is everything

Plot:

A college professor travels to New York City to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.

Premi:

3 wins

Recensioni degli utenti:

Works as a metaphor for Americans reaching out

US Showtimes:

(register to personalize)

Cast

Richard Jenkins	...	Walter Vale
Haaz Sleiman	...	Tarek Khalil
Danai Jekesai Gurira	...	Zainab (as Danai Gurira)
Hiam Abbass	...	Mouna Khalil
Marian Seldes	...	Barbara
Maggie Moore	...	Karen
Michael Cumpsty	...	Charles
Bill McHenry	...	Darin
Richard Kind	...	Jacob
Tzahi Moskovitz	...	Zev
Amir Arison	...	Mr. Shah
Neal Lerner	...	Martin Revere
Ramon Fernandez	...	Cop #1
Frank Pando	...	Cop #2
Waleed Zuaiter	...	Omar
Deborah Rush	...	Upper Eastside Woman
Ashley Springer	...	Student
Laith Nakli	...	Nasim
Jacqueline Brogan	...	Waiter
Walter Mudu	...	Ronald Cole (as Walter T. Mudu)
Yevgeniy Dekhtyar	...	Slavic Man
Earl Baker Jr.	...	Lester James
Walter the Dog	...	Sprinkles the Dog

Regia di
Thomas McCarthy

Scritto da
Thomas McCarthy		(screenplay)

Prodotto da
Omar Amanat	....	executive producer
Michael London	....	producer
Patty Long	....	line producer: additional photography
Chris Salvaterra	....	executive producer
Mary Jane Skalski	....	producer
Jeff Skoll	....	producer
Ricky Strauss	....	executive producer
Bergen Swanson	....	line producer
John Woldenberg	....	executive producer

Musiche originali di
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek

Fotografia di
Oliver Bokelberg

Montaggio di
Tom McArdle

Responsabile casting
Kerry Barden
Billy Hopkins
Suzanne Smith

Scenografie di
John Paino

Architetto-scenografo
Len Clayton

Arredatore
Kim Chapman

Costumi di
Melissa Toth

Trucco
Marc Boyle	....	hair stylist: Los Angeles
Stacey Panepinto	....	key makeup artist
Leah Rial	....	makeup artist: Los Angeles
Lora Scrignoli	....	hair department head
Kami Steele	....	assistant makeup artist

Direttore di produzione
J.M. Brown	....	unit production manager: Los Angeles
Jonathan Ferrantelli	....	post-production supervisor
Jared Goldman	....	production manager

Aiuto regista
Nicholas R. Bell	....	second assistant director
Anthony Blanco	....	second second assistant director
Mariela Comitini	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Jamie Arbuckle	....	set dresser
Jacqueline Brogan	....	artistic consultant
Craig Charland	....	art production assistant
Olivia Dunn	....	art intern
John El Manahi	....	scenic painter
Eric Friedewald	....	lead person
Sean Haines	....	on-set dresser
Glenn Lloyd	....	art department coordinator
Miles Michael	....	set dresser
Kevin L. Raper	....	graphic artist
Niquan Riley	....	props
Brendan K. Russell	....	art department production assistant
Courtney Schmidt	....	assistant property master
Alexis Weiss	....	property master

Sonoro
Jamie Baker	....	sound editor
Damian Canelos	....	sound mixer
Marko A. Costanzo	....	foley artist
David Flynch	....	sound editor
Lewis Goldstein	....	sound re-recording mixer
Heather Gross	....	sound editor
Ruth Hernandez	....	sound editor
Paul Hsu	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Hsu	....	supervising sound editor
Frank Kern	....	sound editor
George A. Lara	....	foley mixer
Eric Milano	....	adr recordist
Cate Montana	....	sound editor
Adam Sanchez	....	boom operator
Gabriel Sanders	....	boom operator
John Sember	....	boom operator
Sara Stern	....	assistant sound editor
Lila Yomtoob	....	sound editor

Visual Effects
Stephen Gaconnier	....	visual effects producer
Mike Nuget	....	digital cleanup artist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Rik Andino	....	grip
Joe Belschner	....	additional dolly grip
Carter Bissell	....	best boy electric
Ryan Cheresnick	....	additional electrician
Dylan Crawshay-Williams	....	grip
Alexander Engel	....	electrician
John Frisbie	....	rigging gaffer
Rob Harlow	....	second key grip
Theodore N. Hellmuth	....	dolly grip
T.J. Hellmuth	....	dolly grip
Sarah L. Hendrick	....	additional second assistant camera
Kevin Kilcher	....	additional electrician
Ludovic Littee	....	first assistant camera
Adam Lukens	....	best boy grip
Adam Lukens	....	grip
Mike 'Electric' Mervilde Jr.	....	best boy grip
Smokey Nelson	....	gaffer
Aaron Randall	....	additional dolly grip
Meg Schrock	....	electrician
Meg Schrock	....	generator operator
Jaime Segschneider	....	second assistant camera
Elizabeth Stern	....	additional grip
Walter Strafford	....	additional grip
Matthew Walker	....	key grip
JoJo Whilden	....	still photographer
Casey Wooden	....	grip

Casting Department
Jessica Kelly	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Erin Byrne	....	additional costumer
Leah Katznelson	....	assistant costume designer
Rebecca McCabe	....	wardrobe supervisor: additional
Colleen McTigue	....	key costumer
Emily Mraz	....	costume intern
Diana Pappas	....	costume production assistant
Amy Pickering	....	wardrobe supervisor

Editorial Department
Kate Abernathy	....	assistant editor
Joe Gawler	....	digital opticals colorist
Ali Muney	....	assistant editor
Mike Nuget	....	on-line editor
Patricia Sztaba	....	negative matcher
Stan Sztaba	....	negative matcher
Daniel Triller	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Mariusz Glabinski	....	music editor
Mary Ramos	....	music supervisor
Marek Szpakiewicz	....	musician: cello solo
Marek Szpakiewicz	....	orchestrator

Altro personale
John A. Accardo	....	production assistant
Lucie Bourgeau	....	production secretary: Los Angeles
Nicole Bukowski	....	accounting clerk
Hil Cato	....	assistant to production lawyer (as Hilary Stabb)
Matthew B. Chamberlin	....	location manager: additional photography, Los Angeles
Craig Charland	....	office intern
Rachel Connors	....	script supervisor
Chandra Cummin	....	assistant: Mary Jane Skalski
Charlie Dibe	....	assistant production coordinator
Jeph Duarte	....	location manager
Sky Gewant	....	additional production assistant
Dan Gloeckner	....	key set production assistant
Audra Gorman	....	location scout
James Granger	....	production secretary
Jonathan Gray	....	production counsel
Travis Huber	....	location scout
Brendan Kehoe	....	location assistant
Sara Lane	....	production accountant
Ben Logan	....	craft service assistant
Kristen Mink	....	assistant location manager
Karen S. Neasi	....	product placement
Darin J. Patterson	....	additional production assistant
Elizabeth Pellegrini	....	production coordinator
Dana Penrod	....	production assistant
Jamie Ellen Rush	....	production assistant: first team
Gus Sacks	....	office intern
Weiman Seid	....	unit publicist
Lara Sfire	....	production assistant
Luke Tomalin Sherman	....	unit production assistant
Ivy Shyu	....	assistant: Thomas McCarthy
Collin Smith	....	location manager
Marny Smith	....	office intern
Sharon Steinhauser	....	business and legal affairs
J.P. Summerskill	....	payroll accountant
Vivian Tong	....	production assistant
Tom Yeager	....	location manager

Thanks
Juliana Farrell	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Groundswell Productions
• Next Wednesday Productions
• Participant Productions

Distributors

• Halcyon Pictures (2008) (UK) (theatrical)
• K5 International (2007) (non-USA) (all media)
• Overture Films (2007) (USA) (all media)
• Overture Films (2008) (USA) (theatrical)

Effetti speciali

• Janimation

Other Companies

• Chapman / Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes
• Chapman / Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix
• Fat Dot  unit publicity
• K5 International  international sales
• Post Factory NY  post-production facilities
• Sylvia Fay/ Lee Genick & Associates Casting  extras casting
• Tandem Sound  sound post-production
• Varèse Sarabande  soundtrack

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Durata:

Canada:103 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:108 min

Nazionalità:

USA

Lingua:

Inglese

Colore:

Colore

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sonoro:

Dolby Digital

Divieti:

Canada:PG | USA:PG-13

Luoghi delle riprese:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Groundswell Productions

Colonna sonora:

Salsera

Works as a metaphor for Americans reaching out

Illegal immigration has been a prominent subject of conversation in U.S. politics this year with discussion ranging from thoughtful proposals for comprehensive reform to demagogic calls for mass deportation of millions of undocumented workers. To some, it is only a logistical problem, not a moral or humane one. To his credit, Thomas McCarthy's second feature The Visitor allows us to see the human face of the issue without becoming bogged down in the usual stereotypes and fear mongering and it becomes a powerful indictment of a fear-based policy that no longer serves the public interest. The power of the film's message is somewhat diluted, however, by a facile and unmotivated "movie" turnaround that seems more plot-derived than an event springing form the lifeblood of the character.

Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins), an Economics Professor at an unnamed Connecticut university, goes through the motions of his daily routine, listlessly teaching an Economics course from a syllabus that he hasn't updated in fifteen years. Doing his best Bob Newhart interpretation, Jenkins establishes Vale's credentials as a bona fide jerk early in the film. He dismisses a piano teacher after one lesson (his fourth such firing), refuses to accept a student's late paper without considering the personal circumstances involved, and rejects a colleague's request to read a paper he co-wrote as a fill-in for an ailing fellow professor until he is forced to do so by the college administration.

When Walter returns to New York for the conference and enters his apartment after a long absence, he is shocked to discover that an unscrupulous real estate agent has sublet it to an African woman and her Syrian boyfriend. The uninvited guests, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman), a musician who plays the African drum at jazz clubs in the area and Zainab (Danai Guirra), his Senegalese girl friend, who sells her own jewelry at street markets. Though the couple offer to leave immediately, Walter, in a sudden turn from the character arc previously nurtured, invites them to stay with him in his apartment while he attends the conference.

Though Zainab remains aloof, Tarek's outgoing personality and his good will seems to make a dent in Walter's impenetrable armor and before you can say "gott im himmel", Walter is learning how to play the African drum, joining an outdoor drum circle in Central Park, and listening to Tarek's band performing at a jazz club. It's quite a stretch but, as Tarek tells Walter in his first drum lesson "thinking just screws it up". As the two slowly develop a friendship, an unfortunate event turns the film in a more serious direction. On the way home from a performance, Tarek is arrested in the subway for allegedly jumping a turnstile and sent to a detention center in Queens where he is held for possible deportation due to his status as an undocumented immigrant.

As Zainab moves in with a relative, Walter hires an immigration lawyer and visits Tarak daily. When Tarak's mother Mouna (Hiam Abbass) comes to the apartment from Michigan looking for her son whom she hadn't heard from in five days, Walter invites her to stay with him and the two form a deep connection. They visit Tarak at the detention center, talk with Zainab in the marketplace, and see the sights of New York including, of course, the Statue of Liberty. As events move toward a powerful and surprising resolution, Walter becomes more expressive and open hearted in his fight for Tarak's right to remain in the U.S.

The Visitor succeeds in making people aware of the problems faced by undocumented workers who, in this case only through carelessness in taking care of paperwork, have become labeled as undesirable and a threat to the country they have come to admire and want to contribute to. The film works well both as a political statement and also as a metaphor for Americans reaching out and becoming more sensitive to the problems of third-world people. However, as a character study of a man who is transformed from a dispirited and aloof college professor into a drum playing social activist, eager to be accepted as "cool", The Visitor lacks the ring of truth and ultimately becomes just another quirky assembly line charmer.