The Mystic Masseur

The Mystic Masseur

PG 2001 · 117 min · ★ 5.5 · Drama, Comedy

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

Directed by Ismail Merchant · Written by Caryl Phillips

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

4h 11m together

The Mystic Masseur

The Remains of the Day

Both from Ismail Merchant.

More from Ismail MerchantSee all →

HARDtalk

HARDtalk · 1997

In-depth interviews with hard-hitting questions and sensitive topics being covered as famous personalities from all walks of life talk about the highs and lows in their lives.

Maurice

Maurice · 1987

MovieDramaRomance

After his lover rejects him, Maurice attempts to come to terms with his sexuality within the restrictiveness of Edwardian society.

The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day · 1993

The Remains of the Day

MovieDramaRomance

In interwar Britain, a rule-bound head butler's world of manners and decorum in the household he maintains is tested by the arrival of a new housekeeper. The possibility of romance and his master's cultivation of ties with the Nazi cause challenge his carefully maintained veneer of servitude.

Howards End

Howards End · 1992

MovieDramaRomance

A saga of class relations and changing times in an Edwardian England on the brink of modernity, the film centers on liberal Margaret Schlegel, who, along with her sister Helen, becomes involved with two couples: wealthy, conservative industrialist Henry Wilcox and his wife Ruth, and the downwardly mobile working-class Leonard Bast and his mistress Jackie.

A Room with a View

A Room with a View · 1986

A Room with a View

MovieDramaRomance

When Lucy Honeychurch and chaperon Charlotte Bartlett find themselves in Florence with rooms without views, fellow guests Mr Emerson and son George step in to remedy the situation. Meeting the Emersons could change Lucy's life forever but, once back in England, how will her experiences in Tuscany affect her marriage plans?

Lumière & Company

Lumière & Company · 1995

Lumière & Company

MovieDramaDocumentary

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no synchronized sound was permitted, and (3) no more than three takes.

Heights

Heights · 2005

MovieDramaRomance

Spanning twenty-four hours, HEIGHTS follows five New Yorkers challenged to choose their destiny before the sun comes up the next day.

The White Countess

The White Countess · 2005

The White Countess

MovieDramaRomance

In 1930s Shanghai, 'The White Countess' is both Sofia, a fallen member of the exiled Russian aristocracy, and a nightclub created by a blind American diplomat who asks Sofia to be the centerpiece of the world he wants to create.

Mr. & Mrs. Bridge

Mr. & Mrs. Bridge · 1990

Mr. & Mrs. Bridge

Set during World War II, an upper-class family begins to fall apart due to the conservative nature of the patriarch and the progressive values of his children.

A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries

A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries · 1998

A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries

This fictionalized story, based on the family life of writer James Jones, is an emotional slice-of-life story. Jones is portrayed here as Bill Willis, a former war hero turned author who combats alcoholism and is starting to experience health problems. Living in France with his wife, daughter, and an adopted son, the family travels an unconventional road which casts them as outsiders to others. Preaching a sexual freedom, his daughter's sexual discovery begins at an early age and betrays her when the family moves to Hanover in America. Her overt sexuality clashes with the values of her teenage American peers and gives her a problematic reputation. Meanwhile, her brooding brother copes with his own interior pain regarding his past, only comfortable communicating within the domestic space.

The Golden Bowl

The Golden Bowl · 2000

The Golden Bowl

MovieRomanceDrama

Wealthy American widower Adam Verver and his daughter Maggie live a refined life in Europe, surrounded by art. Maggie marries impoverished Italian Prince Amerigo, while Adam marries Maggie's friend Charlotte Stant. The Prince and Charlotte are having an affair, which Maggie discovers and navigates through a silent, psychological battle of wills, ultimately using her cunning to preserve her marriage and protect her father.

Heat and Dust

Heat and Dust · 1983

MovieDramaRomance

Anne is investigating the life of her grand-aunt Olivia, whose destiny has always been shrouded with scandal. As Anne delves into the history of her grand-aunt, she is led to reconsider her own life.

The Ballad of the Sad Cafe

The Ballad of the Sad Cafe · 1991

The Ballad of the Sad Cafe

MovieDramaRomance

A small-town eccentric opens a café in her decaying home.

Feast of July

Feast of July · 1995

MovieDramaCrime

After an abandoned young woman in late 19th Century England is taken in by a rural couple with three handsome sons, tragic consequences result.

Surviving Picasso

Surviving Picasso · 1996

Surviving Picasso

MovieDramaRomance

The passionate Merchant-Ivory drama tells the story of Francoise Gilot, the only lover of Pablo Picasso who was strong enough to withstand his ferocious cruelty and move on with her life.

Quartet

Quartet · 1981

MovieDramaRomance

When her husband's arrest leaves her penniless, a woman accepts an invitation to move in with a strange couple.

More Like This

Bend It Like Beckham

Bend It Like Beckham · 2002

Bend It Like Beckham

MovieComedyDrama

Jess Bhamra, the daughter of a strict Indian couple in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton, who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.

Barton Fink

Barton Fink · 1991

MovieComedyDrama

A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.

Rome, Open City

Rome, Open City · 1945

Rome, Open City

During the Nazi occupation of 1944 Rome, Resistance leader Giorgio Manfredi is pursued by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a means of escape.

The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption · 1994

The Shawshank Redemption

MovieDramaCrime

Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

The Godfather

The Godfather · 1972

MovieDramaCrime

Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

Driving Miss Daisy

Driving Miss Daisy · 1989

Driving Miss Daisy

The story of an old Jewish widow named Daisy Werthan and her relationship with her black chauffeur, Hoke. From an initial mere work relationship grew in 25 years a strong friendship between the two very different characters, in a time when those types of relationships were shunned.

Condorito: The Movie

Condorito: The Movie · 2017

Condorito: The Movie

MovieAdventureAnimation

Condorito must find a way to rescue his mother in law from an ancient race of aliens which wants to enslave the universe once again.

The Tin Drum

The Tin Drum · 1979

MovieDramaHistory

In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.

The Marriage of Maria Braun

The Marriage of Maria Braun · 1979

The Marriage of Maria Braun

Maria marries a young soldier in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. She must rely on her beauty and ambition to navigate the difficult post-war years alone.

The Last Emperor

The Last Emperor · 1987

The Last Emperor

MovieDramaHistory

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

Men in Black

Men in Black · 1997

MovieActionAdventure

After a police chase with an otherworldly being, a New York City cop is recruited as an agent in a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth: the Men in Black. Agent K and new recruit Agent J find themselves in the middle of a deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies.

Men in Black II

Men in Black II · 2002

Men in Black II

MovieActionComedy

Kay and Jay reunite to provide our best, last and only line of defense against a sinister seductress who levels the toughest challenge yet to the MIB's untarnished mission statement – protecting Earth from the scum of the universe. It's been four years since the alien-seeking agents averted an intergalactic disaster of epic proportions. Now it's a race against the clock as Jay must convince Kay – who not only has absolutely no memory of his time spent with the MIB, but is also the only living person left with the expertise to save the galaxy – to reunite with the MIB before the earth submits to ultimate destruction.

Downfall

Downfall · 2004

MovieDramaHistory

In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.

Soldier of Orange

Soldier of Orange · 1977

Soldier of Orange

MovieDramaThriller

The lives of Erik Lanshof and five of his closest friends take different paths when the German army invades the Netherlands in 1940: fight and resistance, fear and resignation, collaboration and high treason.

Lust, Caution

Lust, Caution · 2007

MovieActionDrama

During World War II, a secret agent must seduce, then assassinate an official who works for the Japanese puppet government in Shanghai. Her mission becomes clouded when she finds herself falling in love with the man she is assigned to kill.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button · 2008

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

MovieDramaFantasy

Born under unusual circumstances, Benjamin Button springs into being as an elderly man in a New Orleans nursing home and ages in reverse. Twelve years after his birth, he meets Daisy, a child who flits in and out of his life as she grows up to be a dancer. Though he has all sorts of unusual adventures over the course of his life, it is his relationship with Daisy, and the hope that they will come together at the right time, that drives Benjamin forward.

Lee

MovieHistoryDrama

The true story of photographer Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter