My Own Country

Released 1998
Reviewed December 2, 1998
Stars Naveen Andrews, Marisa Tomei, Hal Holbrook, Swoosie Kurtz, Ramier Dr. Sivanandan
Directed by Mira Nair

Based on a true story and the book of the same name, "My Own Country" tells the story of an East Indian doctor who settles in Johnson City, Tennessee. It starts promisingly enough, with a group of East Indian interns discussing what it's like to practice in America. How they're viewed as "shit" and relegated to the toilet hospitals in the boonies. From there, however, it changes to the story of one of the doctors, Abraham Verghese, who specializes in infectious diseases. It's 1985, and AIDS is spreading from the big cities to the rural areas. Abraham takes AIDS as his personal crusade and is soon well-known for his compassion and non-judgemental treatment. He soon becomes overwhelmed with patients from the surrounding states, and this strains his marriage.

I was very interested in what it would be like for someone from India to relocate to rural southern America--especially someone in such a highly respected profession. There were a few moments that provided some insight. For example, there's a scene where the local Indian population has gathered, and someone asks Abraham if it's difficult for his white patients to open up to him. He believes the contrary. He thinks it's easier for his patients to be open and honest with him about their lifestyles and how they contracted the virus, because they don't believe he judges them. Furthermore, he suspects they believe he doesn't have the right to judge them. That's insightful.

Unfortunately, the majority of the movie is a series of melodramas about the dying patients as they go through the different stages of death. Some of them work, but most are overwrought. I think the best scene is when a young man gets baptized in the river shortly before he dies. The image of him being carried into the river with his oxygen tank is very well done, and it quietly shows how important this act is to him. It succeeds and is moving, but even it becomes overwrought with melodrama as the parents wring their hands in the background, sobbing as if they were in a tv movie of the week.

The one glaring omission in this film is how the community feels about Abraham drawing AIDS patients to their small town. There had to be a huge backlash, but only his wife hints at it. Instead, the film concentrates on his struggle to maintain his sanity and marriage in the midst of so much death, which he's powerless to stop. He knows he can't stop it, so he concentrates on helping the victims and trying to prevent it from spreading.

Abraham Verghese is a compassionate man who devoted his life to helping others that most people--including doctors--turned their backs on. Fortunately, the one thing that stands out in the film is the performance of Naveen Andrews as Abraham. He doesn't play him as a dynamic character, but as a soothing force. Showtime aired an interview with the real Verghese, and the portrayal seemed right on the money. This performance carried the film and made it interesting, but, unfortunately, not interesting enough to recommend.

Reviewed by Bill Alward  Home  

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