The Visitor (2007 feature film)
On the way home, Tarek is mistakenly charged with subway turnstile jumping, arrested for "failing" to pay his fare (although he actually had), and taken to a detention center for illegal immigrants in Queens.It is revealed that Mouna's journalist husband died following a lengthy politically motivated imprisonment in Syria, and she is concerned about her son's future prospects if he is deported.The two begin to share a simple domestic existence, with Mouna preparing meals and Walter treating her to The Phantom of the Opera when she mentions her love for the original cast recording Tarek sent her as a gift.On their final night, Mouna joins Walter for a comforting embrace in bed, blaming herself for all that has gone wrong—years earlier, she received a deportation order for her and Tarek but threw out the documents, wanting instead for the two of them to stay in the United States.Much as The Station Agent nimbly evaded the obstacles of cuteness and willful eccentricity it had strewn in its own path, so does The Visitor, with impressive grace and understatement, resist potential triteness and phony uplift."[13] Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "Devotees of The Station Agent will be relieved to know that writer-director Tom McCarthy gives no indication of a sophomore slump.He described screenwriter/director McCarthy as "that rare talent who can work in miniature to reveal major truths [and] ... is attuned to the nuances of behavior" and wrote "Jenkins delivers a master class in acting."[15] John Anderson of Variety wrote, "Some films click from the moment they're cast, and that is certainly the case with The Visitor ... a perfect vehicle for Richard Jenkins [who] ... plays McCarthy's transfigured hero to a tee ...[18] It also was cited as one of the year's ten best by numerous publications, including the Chicago Reader,[18] the Philadelphia Inquirer,[18] the Seattle Post-Intelligencer,[18] The Hollywood Reporter,[18] The Wall Street Journal,[18] and the New York Post.Bonus features include commentary by writer/director Tom McCarthy and star Richard Jenkins, deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, a history of the djembe and instructions on how to play it, and the original trailer.