La visita

As I watched the moral at the heart of "The Visit" revealed, I couldn't help thinking it was like a lavish version of an episode of "The Twilight Zone".

The blurb on the movie's poster could almost serve as Rod Serling's introduction:

"A woman... once framed and betrayed, then alone on the streets... now wealthy and worldly. Corrupting a town to buy the death of the man she loved. The man... once lover and betrayer... now haunted and hunted. The price on his life is high. And there are many bidders".

Well, sort of.

Mega-rich Karla Zachanassian (Ingrid Bergman), returns to the impoverished town of Guellen, which she left years earlier. She wants revenge on Serge Miller (Anthony Quinn) who forced her to leave pregnant, unwed and disgraced, She offers the townspeople a deal. She will take care of their financial woes in exchange for the execution of Serge. As the story proceeds, the inhabitants at first reluctant, find more and more reasons to go along with her request.

Like other reviewers, I was a little wary about the film at first. The town of Guellen is set in a fictional Eastern European country, and I find movies set in "Ruritania" dead boring. They usually have an overload of eccentric characters all working their accents overtime.

But "The Visit" got me in with Ingrid Bergman rasping out advice and commands as though she was channelling Bette Davis, while Anthony Quinn as Serge acquires insights into human nature through the moral corruption of his friends, fellow citizens and even Mathilda his wife. Nobody could do suffering and haunted like Anthony, see "Barabbas" and "The 25th Hour" for confirmation. Apparently William Holden wanted the role, but William Holden doing an accent? Quinn probably saved him from embarrassment.

The cast is a mix of international stars including Irina Demick, stunning as usual in her relatively short, 10-year movie career.

The movie feels felini-esque or even Bergman-esque, Ingmar that is. Nothing quite beats the marriage of light and shade in a well-made B/W film.

"The Visit" is a metaphor for the way even whole countries have been seduced into going against their better natures. "The Visit" has more than a little in common with Orwell's "Animal Farm". It's too interesting a film not to be seen at least once.

Too often, there are many films that are hidden away from the public even though they are really very well written and well acted movies. "The Visit" is one of these movies, unfortunately, not available on video or DVD. The story is of a poor young girl who leaves a mythical country in Europe (Bergman) only to return years later as the richest woman in the world! The way the movie opens is with a train going across the landscape which adds to the suspense because of the title of the film and the town in this mythical country is very anxious and glad that Karla is coming to visit them since they are poverty stricken. A rare gem, the story is solid and interesting--not like the critics said about it being choppy and hard to follow--and Ms. Bergman's costumes are an eyeful. Anthony Quinn is her leading man and together they both deliver more than fine performances, Ms. Bergman's being the strongest. If you ever see this film, you won't regret it. Put a tape in your VCR to record yourself a copy as "The Visit" is a haunting film with moral issues that are unusual for the time in which it is filmed. This is one you will want to see definitely more than once. You've never seen Ingrid Bergman like this before!!!

Well, I haven't seen the play, but I enjoyed all the performances and plot of this disturbingly gripping and compelling film. Ingrid Bergman is riveting and enigmatic - does a great job with portraying a deeply hurt woman underneath a cold, stoney, vengeful exterior. My palms began to sweat and I felt like I was suffocating during the scene where Anthony Quinn's character tries to leave the town on the train...an excellent mob scene that develops slowly and builds, allowing you to feel Quinn's terror, helplessness and entrapment. Bergman is clearly the most stellar of the cast; her acting is bionic femme fatale and she looks phenomenal in her multi-millionaress outfits. Yes, there are some weaker spots, but I think if one over analyzes any movie one is able to find something worthy of criticism. Just sit back and enjoy "The Visit".

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.

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")