After years of hunting this movie down I finally got a chance to watch it in my university library (the movie is still banned in New Zealand and can only be watched for study purposes). I left the library in awe and dismayed that a movie as brilliant as this has been branded as unsuitable for the general public. In all honesty, I don't believe that anyone not interested in Miike would be interested in watching the whole movie; and those courageous (or perverse) enough to do so will never forget it for the rest of their lives.
The premise of the movie is relatively simple(!) and numerous movies have been made with this concept - a family is breaking up and is helped by a stranger/angel to come together. Using this as the blue print, Miike has then taken the poetic and artistic license to demonstrate their dysfunction and their consequently dysfunctional reunion. The results are hilarious and not all that shocking for Miike fans.
The brilliance and class of Miike is evident in each scene and characters. Even though Visitor Q does not belong to the category of Audition, Ichi The Killer and Gozu, it is easily one of the best black comedies I have seen and sits comfortably on the premier tier with the likes of Solondz's Happiness.
I for one believe that the ban should be lifted, particularly in free speech societies like New Zealand. There are movies aplenty that have ventured into the areas that this movie has been out-casted for e.g.: Salo, Gozu, The War Zone, Gojitmal. All of these are freely available. Visitor Q is seriously not all that bad.
The premise of the movie is relatively simple(!) and numerous movies have been made with this concept - a family is breaking up and is helped by a stranger/angel to come together. Using this as the blue print, Miike has then taken the poetic and artistic license to demonstrate their dysfunction and their consequently dysfunctional reunion. The results are hilarious and not all that shocking for Miike fans.
The brilliance and class of Miike is evident in each scene and characters. Even though Visitor Q does not belong to the category of Audition, Ichi The Killer and Gozu, it is easily one of the best black comedies I have seen and sits comfortably on the premier tier with the likes of Solondz's Happiness.
I for one believe that the ban should be lifted, particularly in free speech societies like New Zealand. There are movies aplenty that have ventured into the areas that this movie has been out-casted for e.g.: Salo, Gozu, The War Zone, Gojitmal. All of these are freely available. Visitor Q is seriously not all that bad.