Circa 1940 in Trinidad, still a British Colony, lives Ganesh Ramseyor, of East Indian origin, along with his wife, Leela. He longs to reach out to people, especially to Hindus, in order to promote the Hindu Faith, and be known as a writer. He does get considerable success, so much so that he becomes famous as a miracle worker, having cured a man of sharing intimacy with his bicycle; prevented a man from believing that he can fly; and convincing a young woman to end her fast. His fame spreads all over the island and thousands throng to seek his blessings, which he does dole out quite benevolently, without charging any fees from the poor and the needy. He then decides to spread his wings by challenging the local politician Pandit Narayan Chandrashekhar alias Cyrus T., and takes over The Hindu Organization, thence opening his way to a seat in the prestigious Member of the Legislative Assembly
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Save your money for something good and enjoyable
As Good As It Gets
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.
Cold-blooded collateralNothing unusual means everything usual.That's a line from a long-time short story, "The Night Watchman's Occurrence Book" by VS Naipaul which the scriptwriter of The Mystic Masseur – the movie – has not yet .... the cineplex is now showing The Mystic Masseur, which is promotionally pitched as "a time and a place for magic and miracles."The movie, like the novel, is set in Trinidad. Need I say more on how misleading then that promotional line is?Nothing in the book, nor even the Caryl Phillips-scripted Merchant Ivory production remotely shows more....
Make up the first hour of this movie - and it is well worth the look at to get a feeling for the culture and people of Trinidad, at that time. The last 30-40 minutes are not as enchanting, but still end up tieing the story together. There is a certain quiet, resonating truth to this movie which crosses cultures, as the old-fashioned and the new fangled clash but ultimately resolve. Not too many movies about this culture, so you will probably not see many like it ... it is not a masterpiece but it is both touching and uplifting at times, as well as beautifully filmed and acted - let me know what you think ...
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.
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.
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