Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Philippa All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Garbo46 Some of the reviews I read are so intellectual and consider all sorts of aspects, which I suppose is the mark of a true movie lover. I am not an intellectual and rarely read more things into a script than I see. This movie just seemed silly to me, with village folks putting great emphasis on what, admittedly to me, are small things. I thought it made a general statement that these people are cheap, always concerned with the cost of everything and resentful of spending. I doubt that is an overall characteristic of Trinidadians. My other half and I both began falling asleep watching this. We finally decided to watch the rest of it the next morning. Sure enough, we were yawning and staring blankly until the end while enjoying our morning coffee. I am glad there are folks who enjoyed it, and agree that it is definitely not commercial.

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)

umkumar Adaptations of novels are _always_ risky business. But this movie takes the cake.I thought Mercahnt Ivory would have done better.What kills the movie is the casting and the dialog delivery: the pronunciation. (What else remains?) Most of the actors look too polished for the roles they play; and they are: they are part of a sophisticated international cast that regularly starts in many "Raj" movies (except Om Puri).They are used to suave, clipped British accents. And that is painfully obvious when they try to speak in the rural Hindi-Trinidadian mix.The book does not show them that way. I had imagined them looking like people from the region I have seen in India which features typical of people from that region (you get rare glimpses of such people, esp. at Ganesh's wedding). And speaking like them when they speak English.Ganesh, The Great Belcher (Zohra Sehgal) et al can hardly conceal their clean, sophisticated inflections On Puri does a poor job overlaying the Bhojpuri-accented English onto his native Punjabi drawl. Such a fine actor...I just kept wishing he speak in Hindi instead...just end the torture...The results are atrociously comic. On top of all that confusion the actors try to put on an Indian, Apu-the-character-from-Simpsons style of Indian accent. Ugh!Gawd! I could not see the images in my mind be butchered by the on-screen characterizations...A western viewer may not observe all these fine points but they were too obvious to me...rather painfully so...

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.