VividSimon Simply Perfect

SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Claudio Carvalho In the small town named Guellen, the Mayor, Council and residents are preparing to welcome the wealthy and powerful Karla Zachanassian (Ingrid Bergman) that left the hometown when she was seventeen years old and now is returning. Guellen and the inhabitants are completely broken since the mines and factory are closed and they hope Karla, who is one of the wealthiest persons in the world, would invest in the town. The owner of a small shop, Serge Miller (Anthony Quinn), who might be the next mayor, is invited to receive Karla since they had been sweethearts. When Karla arrives, the Mayor offers a dinner to her. In his speech, he recalls beautiful moments of Karla while living in Guellen. When he finishes, she tells that his speech is a lie and makes corrections. She tells that her school teacher was abusive with her; her father was an alcoholic and lazy worker; she lost her virginity with Serge and got pregnant; Serge paid two friends to defame her and she lost her daughter that died one year later; because of her record, she moved to Trieste to work in a whorehouse, where she met her husband. Now she offers a fortune (one million) to Guellen and another million to be shared by the residents provide they execute Serge. What will the population do? "The Visit" is an unknown (only 990 votes in IMDb) masterpiece of revenge, with one of the most acid, ironical and cynical stories ever shown in a film. Ingrid Bergman performing an evil resented woman is a role totally unusual for this beautiful actress. The screenplay is excellent with an unexpected plot point with the revelation of the true intention of Karla. She explores the weak moral of a needy and greedy population. The conclusion is impressive. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "A Visita" ("The Visit")

joyceck I really don't want to write a full technical review of the Movie. Suffice it to say it was a stunning and gripping tale. It is a real shame this is not available commercially. Anyone with more information about who owns the rights to this film or it's current where abouts please let us know via additional posts I guess. It's a must see....Bergman is compelling in her seamless performance. The film has an absurdist/existential feel to it almost like an extended high comedy with a taste of twilight zone. It has kind gestalt impact like Blue Angel and Children of Paradise.

but_you_see Even though the movie itself wasn't that successful and some critics even stated that it was one of the greatest film-flops in the history of Hollywood and Ingrid Bergman's career, I can just say: Non-sense!!Of course, it IS a challenge to see Ingrid, the lovely Ilsa Lund from Casablanca or funny Anna Kalman from Indiscreet, in the part of the revengeful BAD Lady but oh, what a GREAT challenge!! It is a pleasure to watch her unused cynical and sarcastic behaviour. Even though she starred Carla Zachanassian differently than the book-character, she does an awesome job. It's a pity that she didn't play more such "bad" parts, which she can realize just perfectly!!A must-have for people who just think of Ingrid Bergman being GOOD from head to foot ;) ...

ce1hyman I saw this movie years ago and was slowly fascinated by the allure of the plot. I remember thinking when viewing it for the first ten or fifteen minutes that it would be a boring movie. Far from it for as I kept watching I found it to be very entertaining and as one of the most revealing stories about the character of people under stress that I have ever seen. Anthony Quinn was absolutely believable as Serge Miller and the supporting cast was outstanding. I have been looking for a video or DVD version of the movie, since it is aired so infrequently. For me there are two kinds of movies I enjoy, those that I watch once and those I can watch over and over again. This one fits the latter category.