Visitor Q

"The only thing stranger than this family is... Visitor Q."

2001 1h 24m JA

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 563

ComedyDramaHorrorThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In a dysfunctional family where the mother is a heroin addict and prostitute, beaten by her son, and the father is an ex-TV reporter, sleeping with his daughter and filming his son being beaten up, ‘Q’, a complete stranger enters the bizarre family, changing their lives for the better, finding a balance in their disturbing natures.

“The only thing stranger than this family is... Visitor Q.”

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Cast

Kenichi Endo
Kiyoshi Yamazaki / Father
Shungicu Uchida
Keiko Yamazaki / Mother
Kazushi Watanabe
Q / The visitor
Jun Mutô
Takuya Yamazaki / Son
Fujiko
Miki Yamazaki / Daughter
Shôko Nakahara
Asako Murato
Ikko Suzuki
Sasaoka

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Takashi Miike
Writers: Itaru Era
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

84 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

25 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Part of the "Love Cinema" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Hideo Yamamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Yasushi Shimamura shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Takashi Miike directs. Hideo Yamamoto behind the camera. Koji Endo scores. Yasushi Shimamura cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

184 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $0.1M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
325 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Part of the "Love Cinema" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
6Directed by Takashi Miike, shot by Hideo Yamamoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Koji Endo. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor Yasushi Shimamura shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Kenichi Endo and Shungicu Uchida and Kazushi Watanabe carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "The only thing stranger than this family is... Visitor Q.".
11IMDB entry: tt0290329 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 14 themes, including "rape", "sexual abuse", "marriage crisis", "psychopath".

The technical file

Cinematography: Hideo Yamamoto
Original score: Koji Endo
Editing: Yasushi Shimamura
Production design: Yutaka Uki
Makeup / hair: Hiroko Miyata
Runtime: 84 min · 1h 24m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $60,400
Original language: JA
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Visitor Q (2001)

Part of

Love Cinema

Love Cinema (ラブシネマ) is a series of Japanese films by CineRocket, it consists of six straight-to-video releases by independent filmmakers via a brief but exclusive run at the minuscule Shimokitazawa cinema in Tokyo. The six films were conceived as low budget exercises to explore the benefits afforded by the low-cost Digital Video medium such as the increased mobility of film and the low-lighting conditions available to the filmmakers. All six volumes are produced by Reiko Arakawa and Susumu Nakajima with Akira Saitō and Hisanori Endō serving as executive producers on all six volumes.