Mississippi Masala suffers from a problem common to many of today's movies: it has no direction.
The film leaves a great first impression, but after mulling over it awhile, its messages sound paltry and too idealic to take seriously.
Denzel Washington stars as Demetrius, a small-business man in Greenwood, Miss. He meets Mina, an Indian woman confined by her parents' history.
Their affair causes deep resentment on the part of African Americans and Indians, and eventually both Mina and Demetrius must choose between their families and each other.
Film Review
On the whole, Mississippi Masala holds the viewer's interest with well-crafted characters and surprising humor.
However, the continual thumping over the head of the film's message really is unnecessary, since in the end, it doesn't accomplish much.
The lesson on racism comes in the form of allegory. Whites remain on the fringes of this film -- the racism comes from minorities.
This approach certainly forces the white viewer -- which predominates the audience here in State College -- to evaluate his/her own values. Anything which does that certainly deserves attention. And the treatment here provides a valuable lesson.
But filmmaker Mira Nair makes one fatal mistake -- she fails to decide whose story this is. Do we view it merely as a love story? Is it the more politically-oriented story of Mina's father and the events in Uganda? Or is it just a treatise on the effects of racism?
One of these stories could fill two movies, together they just convolute complex problems.
Thankfully, Nair creates interesting enough characters to overcome some of these ills. Demetrius and Mina seem real enough to care about. And the lack of cohesion does not prevent us from empathizing with each character's plight.
The story shows an immense amount of maturity in its ability to rise above pity and contempt and deal with human issues. All the characters are well-written and original.
So next time Nair should narrow her focus, the characterization is certainly already there.
