The Visitor

In a world of six billion people, it only takes one to change your life. In actor and filmmaker Tom McCarthy's follow-up to his award winning directorial debut The Station Agent, Richard Jenkins ("Six Feet Under") stars as a disillusioned Connecticut economics professor whose life is transformed by a chance encounter in New York City.

Sixty-two-year-old Walter Vale (Jenkins) is sleepwalking through his life. Having lost his passion for teaching and writing, he fills the void by unsuccessfully trying to learn to play classical piano. When his college sends him to Manhattan to attend a conference, Walter is surprised to find a young couple has taken up residence in his apartment. Victims of a real estate scam, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman), a Syrian man, and Zainab (Danai Gurira), his Senegalese girlfriend, have nowhere else to go. In the first of a series of tests of the heart, Walter reluctantly allows the couple to stay with him.

Touched by his kindness, Tarek, a talented musician, insists on teaching the aging academic to play the African drum. The instrument's exuberant rhythms revitalize Walter's faltering spirit and opened his eyes to a vibrant world of local jazz clubs and Central Park drum circles. As the friendship between the two men deepens, the differences in culture, age and temperament fall away.

After being stopped by police in the subway, Tarek is arrested as an undocumented citizen and held for deportation. As his situation turns desperate, Walter finds himself compelled to help his new friend with a passion he thought he had long ago lost. When Tarek's beautiful mother Mouna (Hiam Abbass) arrives unexpectedly in search of her son, the professor's personal commitment develops into an unlikely romance. It's through this newfound connections with three virtual strangers that Walter is awakened to a new world and a new life.

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Release Date: April 11, 2008
Genre: Comedy and Drama
Running Time: 108 min.
Distributor(s): Overture Films
Tagline: Connection is everything.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language.

Director(s):
Tom McCarthy

Writer(s):
Tom McCarthy - Screenplay

Producer(s):
Jeff Skoll - Executive Producer
Ricky Strauss - Executive Producer
Chris Salvaterra - Executive Producer
Mary Jane Skalski - Producer
Michael London - Producer

Movie Casts:
Richard Jenkins - Walter Vale
Hiam Abbass - Mouna Khalil
Amir Arison - Mr. Shah
Anthony Blanco - Taxi driver
Oliver Bokelberg - German Economy Professor
Jacqueline Brogan - Waiter
Yevgeniy Dekhtyar - Slavic Man
Ramon Fernandez - Undercover Cop 1
Danai Jekesai Gurira - Zainab (as Danai Gurira)
Maggie Moore - Karen
Tzahi Moskovitz - Zev
Laith Nakli - Nasim
Haaz Sleiman - Tarek Khalil
Ashley Springer - Student
Kathleen Truitt - Street Fair Customer
Waleed Zuaiter - Omar