CinemaLit: The Visitor (2007) – 103 minutes

We're live again at the Mechanics' Institute screening room. Join us at 6pm for a film followed by a lively discussion.

Proof of vaccination and masks are required onsite events.

July 29 – The Visitor (2007), 103 minutes, directed by Tom McCarthy, starring Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, and Danai Gurira

Walter Vale, played to Oscar nominated understated perfection by Richard Jenkins, is stuck in a rut. A widowed professor of economics, he's used to a routine that renders him minimally content, but hardly thriving. On a work trip to New York City, he finds two strangers, a man from Syria and a woman from Senegal, living in his apartment. The Visitor could go in any number of storytelling directions, but this lovely and unassuming film from Tom McCarthy (The Station Agent, Spotlight) keeps its quietly strong humanistic appeal. It asks us to break from the arbitrary restrictions of society to be better citizens of the world.

CinemaLit July 2022 – Immigrant Stories

Immigrant stories make for rich cinema. Human relocation, generational conflict, assimilation, and culture shock carry inherent drama, and more than a little bit of comedy. CinemaLit is presenting four films in July that explore the immigrant experience. Our movie characters come from China, Pakistan, Ireland, Syria, and Senegal, but they share the complex pain and joy of leaving their natal homes to find a better, or at least different, life in a far away place. Join us for The Joy Luck Club (1993), My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), Brooklyn (2015), and The Visitor (2007).

Programming in "Civil Rights, Artistic Diversity, Historical Reckoning: Exploring the Film, Literature, and Lives of Marginalized Communities" has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Mechanics' Institute, Mechanics' Institute, San Francisco, United States