Steineded How sad is this?

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

noralee "The Mystic Masseur" is clearly a labor of love by director/producer Ismail Merchant that he feels close to as a member of the Indian diaspora.Adapting a V.S. Naipaul novel I haven't read that deals with his roots as an Indian in Trinidad, the movie works charmingly best when it stays within that Indian community, and is less effective as a criticism of colonialism when the striving "Pundit" at the center clashes pitifully with the Brits. The cause may be the basic hopelessness of his quest: to absorb all the book-learning of British culture and live a life based on his philosophical learnings.The first part has an enjoyable "Milagro Beanfield War" feel, with less magic realism, but just becomes sad and peters out as "Pundit" bequeaths his quest to Naipaul's generation, which clearly prefers staying at Oxford with British women than coming home to take on British hypocrisy directly.(originally written 6/4/2002)

GrunterGrimm It's not likely this movie will appeal to anyone but Merchant-Ivory devotees, Trinidadians or people who lived in Trinidad during the era depicted by the movie, V. S. Naipaul fans, mystics, or massage practitioners. And it's possible you're a V. S. Naipaul fan because he's a Trinidad success story himself. I grew up in pre-Independence Trinidad for a few years as a small boy around the time the story takes place and have a memory of its spectacular scenery and lush interior flatlands, tablelands and mountains, its towns and villages and seashores and eccentric stew of ethnic inhabitants. Later when my family returned in the late 60's we revisited the land of our youth to find many changes, not least in the change in attitude of blacks towards whites. After one summer there again as a teenager, my father sent my brother and I back to school in Canada each with a copy of a V. S. Naipaul novel. I got "Miguel Street" and was glad of it, although I never read my brother's copy of "A House for Mr. Biswas". I do know, however, that Naipaul has captured the essence of Trinidadian "wannabee-ism", and yearning for national independence, in "The Mystic Masseur". I rented this movie because I lived in Trinidad, but might have bypassed it if not for the Merchant-Ivory production. I was not surprised to note a wild assortment of "Trinidadian" accents, although the writers nailed the twisted colloquialisms, sort of like, "She took de ice-cold box of chicken breast and put it under she nylon dress." I recall the outdoor kitchens, and the dusty, flyblown stores of the rural areas denoted in the movie. I recall the taxis, which were privately-owned vehicles travelling established routes picking up and letting people off where they wanted. A glaring oversight is the lack of deployed mosquito-netting in the bedrooms - and no one slaps away the relentless onslaught of mosquitoes and no-see-ums at any time. The movie and novel do carefully depict the credulous, deceptive, argumentative, insulting behaviour of the uneducated, rural and poor folk. The acting, apart from the accents, is done enthusiastically by the Asian players, with James Fox bringing some Merchant-Ivory to the role of a crazy, old, English sadhu. So, this movie will seem slow and boring to people who don't know Trinidad either from Naipaul or from having lived there during the era the movie depicts, and I'm afraid that while it's a lovely movie to look at, and fairly authentic in it's depiction of rural Trinidadian life, I suppose, it's a slow-moving piece of obscure nostalgia.

AlonzoHarris Being from a similar culture as Trinidad, I couldn't resist picking this one up. Atypical of Merchant/Ivory films, this one is a period piece set in pre-independent Trinidad and follows the rise of Ganesh from a frustrated teacher in Port of Spain to an elected member of parliament. Overall, the film does tend to be slow in some parts, but the lively dialogue is very good. This film follows the Indo-Caribbean culture of the West Indies very closely. I found myself identifying closely with the people and found them to be very credible characters. The juxtaposition of Colonial Trinidad and a country on the verge of independance is hinted at throughout the film. However, the political tensions were kept to a minimum. It would have been nice to have seen how Ganesh and his cronies dealt with the coming age of independence.One of the great scenes of the film occurred when Ganesh tries to talk to the striking dock workers. The emotion is clear when he realizes his rise to power came at the cost of his charisma. Overall, a very good film.

Rogue-32 The only reason I didn't rate this film a 10 is because the ending felt a bit too abrupt; aside from that, it's a wonderful film. NOT dull, as some people are calling it. This film traces the rise in power of a man (perfectly portrayed by Aasif Mandvi) who has big dreams and manages to make them into realities. . .and THEN some. -=- minor spoiler alert -=- It's also a great cautionary tale as well, about what happens when you 'sell out' in life, either by trying to please too many people or becoming too power-driven by your own ego. These points are NOT rammed into the viewer's head by any heavy-handed means, however - it is a film of beautiful subtlety and humor. Except for that too-abrupt ending, Merchant-Ivory got this one right.