THE DECEIVERS
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1988 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Fun swashbuckler about a fascinating historical incident. Pierce Brosnan goes undercover in India in 1825 to investigate the Cult of Kali that murdered millions of people in ritual killings. Merchant/Ivory (A ROOM WITH A VIEW) effectively remake the good STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY and do it better. Rating: +3.
We have seen quite a number of films about the British in India, films like GANDHI, A PASSAGE TO INDIA, THE FAR PAVILIONS, and JEWEL IN THE CROWN. These films have had absolutely nothing positive to say about the British. As often as not it is the British themselves who are British-bashing over India. That is all well and good--most people agree that Britain's rule was pretty bad--but the question is, was it so unmitigatedly bad? Was there nothing worthwhile that Britain did? I have asked this question of a number of Indians in this country and have gotten two different answers. One answer was that British rule WAS entirely exploitation. The other answer was that the British did two things for India. The two things were that they built railroads and that they suppressed the Cult of the Black Mother. Most people understand the concept of railroads. What was the Cult of the Black Mother? Well, that is the subject of a new film from the Anglo-Indian production company Merchant/Ivory, makers of films such as SHAKESPEARE WALLAH, A ROOM WITH A VIEW, and MAURICE.
First of all, do not trust my opinion on this film. I am a big fan of an old film made by Hammer Films called STRANGLERS OF BOMBAY. Not that I trust its historical accuracy but it is a great horror film/swashbuckler. THE DECEIVERS is a virtual remake on a bigger budget. It has more action and more thrills and as one can expect from Merchant/Ivory, it is better acted and scripted. It is a film I wanted to see made. But for one silly deus ex machina scene near the end, it has just the perfect feel for this sort of film, a sort of film that has not been made for several years.
The Cult of the Black Mother, also known as the Cult of Kali--whose initiates were called Thuggees (from which we get the word "thug") or Deceivers--was a secret society of adherents to a religion that believed their goddess wanted them to murder. They would pretend to be pilgrims and humbly travel with parties they would meet on the road. In the dark of night, at a given signal, they would whip out cloths and strangle their entire host's party so fast that their victims would never know anything was awry until they felt themselves being strangled. (Incidentally, I was not a fan of INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, but I still claim it did not slander Indians. It had as its villains disciples of Kali and I would contend that, like Nazis, they are pretty much unslanderable.) The film claims the Thuggee cult murdered two million Indians and that may well be a low figure. Travelers would just disappear and nobody would know why, so any statistics are just vague guesses. In addition, when a husband disappeared very often the wife would often commit ritual suicide to join her husband. The fate of the children might well be in question and there could well be more deaths. Murdering two million people directly could indirectly cause the death of many, many more. Surprisingly little has been written about this relatively small cult whose toll in human misery is a significant fraction of that caused by the Third Reich.
Well, that is mostly background. What is the film itself about? William Savage (played by Pierce Brosnan) is the tax collector of a region in which a woman wishes to commit a suicide of suttee, a ritual in which a widow joins her husband. Savage takes part in a ruse to dissuade the woman's suicide only to happen upon the scene of a Thuggee killing. Investigating the mass murder he has witnessed, he discovers just how big a conspiracy it is a part of. Risking his career, he disguises himself as an Indian and joins a local band. The not very descriptive titles THE DECEIVERS conceals a thumping good adventure yarn that is enjoyable and which is fairly consistent with what (admittedly little) I know about the Cult of the Black Mother.
Hey, I had fun with this film. I like films that show me some Asian culture. I like a good film, particularly in the tradition of the swashbucklers. I will give it a +3 on the -4 to +4 scale. But get someone else's opinion.
Mark R. Leeper
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Copyright 1988 Mark R. Leeper
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