ericbill0

Wow. That’s all I’ve been able to say since I finished watching Takashi Miike’s highly controversial VISITOR Q just a few minutes ago. Speaking as a Miike fan who has pretty much enjoyed every film in this filmmaker’s prolific canon of work, this very well might be my favorite so far.



Think WHAT ABOUT BOB? set in the most depraved circumstances imaginable… then multiply by 100. This is SERIOUSLY the most extreme – yet artistically coherent – example of “transgressive cinema” that I can think of. Sure, I enjoyed the shock value of John Water’s PINK FLAMINGOS, and I don’t fault those who can derive enjoyment from films like CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE or even the “Mondo” films (none of which are to my particular liking), but none of those can profess any value beyond simple shocks. VISITOR Q is a massive jolt to the system – like a bucket of ice water in the face – that will have you constantly questioning whether you just saw what you thought you saw, and is he really doing what it looks like he’s doing. The answer to both questions is a resounding “yes”.



“Post modernism” is a term almost as over-abused as “Brechtian” and “surreal”, but all can be accurately employed to describe VISITOR Q. Young Hollywood upstarts like Kevin Williamson are under the popular delusion that willfully using hackneyed clichés while winking at the audience qualifies as “post modernism”, but I’d beg to argue. Miike’s films seem to be made for the hard-core film fan. He realizes that the suspended-disbelief relationship between film and audience is a strained one at best with today’s jaded viewers. Rather than building his creations on such shaky ground, Miike gleefully tears down all pretense of realism, sticking the fetid remains in our faces and daring us to keep our eyes open. If you approach a film like VISITOR Q with a “realistic” mindset, you aren’t likely to get past the first fifteen minutes without flipping the movie off in premature disgust. Of course, Miike wants you to be disgusted, he also wants to shock, but he doesn’t want his incredibly effective delivery system to overwhelm the content. VISITOR Q has a central “moral” (although applying such terminology to a Miike film doesn’t seem quite appropriate), and Miike wastes no opportunities to comment upon modern Japanese society and the danger of corruption from within the family unit. When one family unit – be it “father”, “mother”, “son”, or “daughter” - breaks down, every other unit soon follows suit. This is the setting when VISITOR Q begins, and where the titular character insinuates himself into the very core of this family that redefines the word “dysfunctional”. By his very anonymous presence, Q becomes a catalyst, rebuilding family relationships to a functional level – though the results bring disaster for those around the family. Miike’s films almost always center around a character/characters who are morally ambiguous at best, and quite often seriously disturbed. Yet Miike seems to have no problem evoking sympathy for even the most depraved soul.



Anyone with a similar disposition as mine should seek out VISITOR Q as soon as possible. It’s a viewing experience you are guaranteed not to forget soon.



There’s a new celluloid yakuza in town… and his name’s Takashi Miike.



Eric

skokefoe

hah, i like the topic..

i'd also recommend this movie, as i expected just some shocks, but found out it's really got some substance there. it's probably my favorite miike film too (of the 5 or 6 that i've seen). i'm planning to pick up the R1 release soon. is that the one you watched? any comment on quality?

skokefoe.

ericbill0

In another Miike thread on this board, someone mentioned that VISITOR Q looks terrible on their widescreen HD set. I'm not one of those fortunate to own a nice monitor, but VISITOR Q looks great on my small screen. In fact, as far as dvd quality goes, VISITOR Q looks better than any Miike dvd I've seen yet. Bear in mind that the feature was shot on DV, and therefore exhibits the "video" look of the medium. The DV look actually enhances the overall effect of this riff on "reality television".

Furious

You can see the flaws even on a regular 27" set. Turn to the chapter just before our deranged hero first attacks his fellow female reporter. Take a look at the background. Items like the houses look horrid. When blown up to a decent size it's enough to make you really wonder just who supervised the encoding.

ericbill0

I shouldn't have implied that the disc is perfect - it's not. But it's heads & shoulders above any other Miike dvd I've seen. I'll certainly agree that Miike's work has not yet received the home video treatment is so richly deserves. It's truly ashame that he is being marketed as everything from genre shlockmeister to oddball arthouse fare, and even though both cover areas of Miike's work, they don't even come close to properly representing Miike's bountiful style.

skokefoe

anyone know how the german dvd of this stacks up quality-wise against the R1?

skokefoe.

Hendrik

...look here... is this really a "German" release?

edit ...was looking with my nose... it is a German DVD (Label: Rapideye Germany)... running time (84 minutes) seems a bit short, even allowing for PAL speed-up...

. . . . . .

Furious

Both the German and US discs suffer from the same sort of artifacts. Haven't had the interest to purchase the Japanese dvd yet. The festival tape is devoid of such artifacts, but whether the Japanese dvd encoding was botched is another matter...

Tyler_Durden

One comment I want to make about the film... it's amazing how serene and - dare I say - touching the final scene actually is. I guess the reaction Miike was hoping to achieve in the viewer with this stuff is like the film's father's: one of confusion and not knowing what to feel. If that's true, then it certainly worked in my case.

I'm not uncertain about whether I like the film or not (I do), but the way Miike shows peace in chaos - and vice versa - in his films is truly spectacular IMO; it's unsettling, yes, but pleasantly so.

Love the trailer on the R1 disc, BTW!