The teachings of life

The Visitor
(2008)

Directed by: Thomas McCarthy

Written by: Thomas McCarthy

Cast:
Richard Jenkins
Haaz Sleiman
Danai Gurira
Hiam Abbas







Would you rather have a moment of bliss, only to find out that it will be taken away from you later on? This is what the film “The Visitor” is all about. Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) is a middle-aged college professor, living a monotonous life. A professor of economics at Connecticut College, Walter co-authored a paper, he eventually has to present in New York at NYU. From his home in Connecticut, he goes to New York and stays at his apartment, only to find out that somebody is actually there. His apartment has been rented to Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira) without his knowledge or permission. The two eventually decide to leave but out of kindness, Walter asks them to spend the night. They eventually stayed, and not just for the night. Walter and Tarek immediately develop a friendship based on music. He teaches Walter to play the drums. On the other hand, Zainab is more aloof and cold towards Walter. Tarek is from Syria and plays the drums with a band at a nightclub while Zainab is from Senegal who makes and sells jewelry, both are in the United States illegally.

Things start to get more interesting when Walter and Tarek ride the subway. Tarek gets arrested on the subway and is brought to a holding center in Queens. Mouna (Hiam Abbas) plays Tarek’s mother in the film. Tarek and Mouna have a very close relationship and usually talk to one another almost everyday. Mouna starts to get worried when she has not heard anything from her son. She eventually decides to leave Michigan and go to New York to see Tarek. Eventually, Walter meets Mouna and tells her about her son’s plight. Walter helps out in every way he can just to save Tarek from getting deported.

The film “The Visitor” is a unique kind of film because after seeing it, it gives you a heavy feeling yet it also has that sense of being high in spirits. It shows us the importance of the present and realize how we take things for granted and realize its value when it is totally gone. What makes the film very interesting are the four characters in the film, namely, Walter, Tarek, Zainab and Mouna. Each character is so different yet they seem to find a commonality in all of them and in how they interact with one another. I was really more interested in the relationship between Walter and Mouna, here you are with a middle-aged guy who is probably suffering from a mid-life crisis and a very conservative and submissive woman having probably one of the best times of their lives. Anybody who has seen the film can attest that the performances given by Mr. Jenkins and Ms. Abbas are so subdued that they actually give life to the characters of Walter and Mouna. Both, Walter and Mouna, in a way were responsible for each others’ self-awareness and self-actualization that though life might have its ups and downs, one can feel great, even for a short period of time.

“The Visitor” is released on DVD today

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