Although some of its plotting feels forced ... The Mystic Masseur coasts along nicely on Merchant's sharply honed craftsmanship, which grants the stunning Trinidad locations an extra degree of lushness.
Comment
06/10/02
Rate this Movie 
Mystic Masseur (2001)
52
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work
Reviews Counted:64
Fresh:33
Rotten:31
Average Rating:5.8/10
Consensus: Though pretty to look at, The Mystic Masseur is too slow-paced and lacks narrative tension.
Theatrical Release:May 3, 2002 Limited
Box Office: $291,000
Synopsis: THE MYSTIC MASSEUR is a delightfully warm, funny drama about Ganesh (Assif Mandvi), an ethnic Indian living in Trinidad. While working as a teacher in Port of Spain, Ganesh learns of his father's... [More]
Starring: Aasif Mandvi, Om Puri, Jimi Mistry, Ayesha Dharker
Director: Ismail Merchant
Get This Movie
Reviews for Mystic Masseur
The pacing is deadly, the narration helps little and Naipaul, a juicy writer, is negated.
06/07/02
A bittersweet film, simple in form but rich with human events.
06/07/02
The plot is paper-thin and the characters aren't interesting enough to watch them go about their daily activities for two whole hours.
06/07/02
In the end ... the filmmakers are interested less in Naipaul's provocative world-view and more in his people, all of whom are wonderfully played, particularly by the lovely Dharker and James Fox.
06/01/02
Though Ganesh is successful in a midlevel sort of way, there's nothing so striking or fascinating or metaphorically significant about his career as to rate two hours of our attention.
06/01/02
Top CriticA worthwhile way to spend two hours.
05/31/02
A puzzling experience.
05/31/02
Naipaul fans may be disappointed. Those who are not acquainted with the author's work, on the other hand, may fall fast asleep.
05/31/02
A mildly enjoyable if toothless adaptation of a much better book.
05/31/02
Top CriticThis is a movie where the most notable observation is how long you've been sitting still.
05/30/02
With its splendid combination of comedy, drama and sense of place, 'The Mystic Masseur' charmed me completely. I didn't want this film to end.
05/30/02
If only Merchant paid more attention the story.
05/25/02
The movie is well done, but slow.
05/24/02
Though Merchant elicits lovely performances that have the calypso music of the local patois, the narrative rhythms of his movie are choppy, abrupt.
05/24/02
Top CriticThe Merchant-Ivory team continues to systematically destroy everything we hold dear about cinema, only now it's begun to split up so that it can do even more damage.
05/21/02
Click to read the article
05/17/02
A wry, affectionate delight.
05/17/02
Top CriticMerchant's attention to Trinidadian culture, locales and general atmosphere is inescapably alluring.
05/17/02
Top CriticRT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
MSN's Year in Review 
Take a look at MSN's choices for the Top 10 films of 2009.
40 Best Films of the 2000s
Last week, Moviefone offered us their worst films of the 2000s. Now see their 40 best!
Tarantino's Characters
Hollywood.com explores why QT's characters resonate so well with audiences.
10 Questions For Zac Efron
The Me and Orson Welles star answers reader questions on TIME.com.
Top 20 of the Decade
Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
IGN RSS Feeds