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THE MYSTIC MASSEUR Send This Review to a Friend
Although V. S. Naipul is a writer of world renown and a Nobel Prize winner, until now not one of his works has been made into a film. Ismail Merchant of Merchant-Ivory fame has rectified the situation with "The Mystic Masseur," an adaptation of Naipul's first novel. Set primarily in Trinidad, the story deals with the lives of people of Indian descent and is a cultural mix of their heritage and local life. Merchant, directing from a screenplay by Caryl Phillips, has created a splendid work that is revealing and entertaining, with strong, colorful performances.
It is an unusual tale concerning Ganesh Ransumair, who longs to be a writer against all odds and is determined to succeed and thereby honor the memory of his late father. The role is played by Assif Mandvi, an actor of considerable strength who also can currently be seen as the peddler in the hit Broadway revival of the musical "Oklahoma!" Mandvi projects charm and a bit of the charlatan as Ganesh develops into a masseur who, people believe, has mystical healing powers. Meanwhile, he has married the pretty Leela (Ayesha Dharker), the daughter of a neighbor, Ramlogan, who is played by the renowned actor Om Puri, whom audiences may remember as the Pakistani father trying to make his family adhere to traditions in "East is East."
Ramlogan is a bit of a charlatan himself, always trying to find ways of getting money out of a particular situation and also feeding his considerable ego by demanding proper credit and homage from Ganesh. He becomes an embarrassment after Ganesh, with an inflated idea of his importance, turns to politics at a time when Trinidad is moving toward independence from Britain. Ramlogan sees a way to make some money as Ganesh's popularity rises. The whole political scene is fascinating as Ganesh is able to best his corrupt adversary (detailed with considerable humor) but runs up against the entrenched British-oriented establishment and is pressured to compromise his principles, which leads to an examination of his values. James Fox has an interestingly odd role as Mr. Stewart, a sort of hippie dropout who has a view on what's most important in life.
One endearing quality of the film is the tribute paid to the idea of books. There is such pride on the part of Ganesh and those about him in seeing a book printed, even though it may be a slim volume. Merchant emphasizes the literary world both through the story of Ganesh and a young man who learned from Ganesh's example. One senses, of course, that while this is fiction, much must stem from Naipul's background in his native Trinidad.
There are good supporting performances as well, and "The Mystic Masseur" succeeds in showing us a world that a filmmaker as specialized as Merchant and his producing partner James Ivory choose to portray in contrast to Hollywood's preoccupation with churning out attempts at mass market blockbusters. This is lovely and colorful film that revels in its depiction of interesting, unusual characters and at the same time informing us about a culture and its history. Merchant began his career with distinctive films about India, and here he continues his quest to make films that mean something to him. A THINKfilm release.
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