My Own Country

I enjoyed seeing the portrayal of Southern rural culture, Indian_Americans, different social classes, gay vs straight, doctor vs patient, husband vs wife all together dealing with terminal illness (AIDS). Since I'm familiar with all of these I can vouch for their accuracy. One drawback was a bit too much softness and sentimentality especially by the primary character, the doctor. A more hard-nosed approach, as shown by the ER TV show doctors, would have been more interesting.

Yesterday I watched this tv production, and I was very disappointed.

I didn't have big expectations when it was a tv production, but the complete movie was pain with no ending. I felt it lasted for 3 hours, but it was just me who was bored to death. Every minute was a long struggle and I really fought hard to stay away from the "turn off"-switch.

The movie is about a doctor (Dr. Verghese) who gets a lot of AIDS-patients, and most of them die during the movie. It is hard for Verghese to live with, so his family gets punished with his frustrations. However this movie has problems showing both sides, it mostly focuses on his conversations with the patients, and sometimes we see flicks from his home, but we don't get much. The difficulties to show more than one part of Verghese's life doesn't get any better with the poor acting from Naveen Andrews, a man I (hopefully) can't see in any good future movies.

I believe it got 7,6 because of the subject (taboo?), but I'm sure that there are better movies about this subject on the market. Stay away from this movie, it does not deserve more than 3/10.

I won't summarize the plot, that's been done in other reviews. What is fascinating about the movie is its unique way of filming, the characters that touch one's heart and the choice of people who are in the movie. The setting is removed from the typical AIDS movie set in an urban center, which makes it even more compelling and then you add an Indian doctor who has probably faced prejudice in this country and it's a powerful statement. The 80s were a holocaust for persons with AIDS. No money was available for very much at the time in rural areas. The actor who played the doctor was a remarkable testament to what medicine is about: pain when you can't help someone get well, troubles at home; raw emotions; I would recommend this movie for anyone to begin to understand what having AIDS in the 80s in a rural area was like. Even the smalltown gay bar is/was typical of what the gay bars are like in small towns. Tears roll if you really get engaged with the movie!! If you don't, then you probably don't connect with the issues presented. Another masterful showpiece from Showtime...another perspective from Showtime who also did "Behind the Red Door" this year!! BRAVO!!!

I liked this movie a lot and it was particularly interesting to me as my wife's family lives near the hospital featured in the film. Although this is WELL within the "Bible Belt", I was thankful that the film didn't gloss over the attitudes of these country folk but also didn't paint them all as pin-heads--something a sloppy director and writers COULD have done. Instead, the film, to me, seems less a film about AIDS and rural attitudes than a film about a doctor who is losing his family and sanity because he is too dedicated to his job. The man is very decent and caring but he tries to be there for everyone and is left with nothing for himself or his lonely wife and kids. Excellent acting all around and the same can definitely be said for the writing and direction. The film, by the way, was made by Showtime and is based on the real-life experiences of Dr. Verghese in Johnson City, Tennessee. An excellent and unexpected surprise for a made for TV picture.

After reading the previous comments, I think that Rich106 has missed the point in his final comments. The movie remains close to the sentiment expressed in Dr. Verghese's book especially when it deals with him personally. To me, it is not as much about what is going on around him but instead about how these external things impact and change him as both a person and a physician. I've had the opportunity to hear Dr. Verghese speak and the man is truly remarkable. When watching the movie, keep in mind that these things happened and that there is a man out there today who has been transformed by them.