Review of Visitor Q (2001) by Graham P — 19 Dec 2008

Visitor Q is a particularly bizarre and quite outrageous black comedy about the lives of the members of a completely dysfunctional Japanese family and how there various problems are "put right" by a stranger who arrives in their midst; the enigmatic Q. Directed by extreme cinema supremo Takashi Miike, it is an interesting movie that challenges the viewer's opinions on what is and isn't acceptable within the medium of comedy in some rather unique and certainly offensive ways. Many times, while watching the proceedings in this film I found myself laughing out loud at the complete absurdity of what I was seeing despite the fact that this was something utterly depraved, then questioning why I could find it funny.

I think this might be Takashi Miike's point. He wants us to question how we feel about what we see and whether one person's reaction is the only valid one. Visitor Q in places seems to go almost through the taste barrier to some strange new realm where new rules apply. A film that makes you think, and in my mind that's a good reason to watch it. Having said all that I'm not sure I would want to lend it to anyone.