I thought The Visitor was awesome. I can see not liking it, but I don't get the offensive thing. If you're offended because you think the movie's about a white savior stepping up to help minorities, I would point out that, like Dave said, the only person he ends up saving is himself. The foreigners get screwed.
I loved it too! I like movies about grown-ups. I just thought it was about friendship - which like MOS says, saved only Richard Jenkins' character. There wasn't really a "magical black man" vibe to the thing. The characterization was pretty well-rounded.
It wasn't a "magical black man vibe" I was chafing against, Bryan. You're right there was none of that in 'The Visitor' (Side note: If you're looking for magical black men, I highly recommend Stephen King's 'The Green Mile.'). But even if Walter (I IMDB'd the names) fails to save Tarek and Zainab, he does overturn his whole life to make these individuals his personal mission. To me, the connotation was that "minorities cannot take care of themselves without white kindness" and that made me nauseous. Perhaps I am wrong about that and I read it incorrectly. But all I know is: If you played a drinking game during 'The Visitor' in which you had to down a shot each time a character says "Thank you" to Walter, you'd be dead by the halfway mark.
And the fact that Tarek repays Walter by giving him RHYTHM! Argh that makes me mad.
MoS, DfK, and Bryan: You all rock. If all of you liked it, then perhaps I need to give the movie a second viewing. Also, Thomas McCarthy wrote 'The Station Agent' which I loved, and he played the d-bag journalist on "The Wire" who I loved to hate. So I really need to re-evaluate my stance.
