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Review: The Physician (2013)
I'm still sensitive after watching Kill Bill earlier so this movie really felt like another Orientalist fantasy to me. The main character, Rob Cole, goes to the Middle East, learns their craft and overtakes them, becomes the greatest among them.
So in general, this felt like a rather generic story. Not that charming to me, and despite its setting in the Middle East, it still felt extremely Anglo to me.
Spoilers.
Story
I haven't read the book that this movie is based on, so I am just going to consider this movie in isolation.
The story follows our main character, Rob Cole, as he heads to the Middle East to learn the healing arts. That part of the story is pretty straightforward. Rob takes a lot of risks, but he makes it out alive, thanks to the strong alliances during the course of the movie, mainly, respect from the Shah and from his mentor Ibn Sina.
When Rob cuts up a corpse (which is against several of the local religions), his mentor doesn't see that badly (despite him not really encouraging him before) because Rob was his best student. Admittedly I rolled my eyes.
Of course, there is a love story which was largely unnecessary to the story. Rebecca was betrothed to a local noble who treated her poorly. She'd fallen in love with Rob long ago on their journey and when they found each other again, she ended up having his baby. Her husband found out about it and was going to kill her.
Rob somehow caught the attention of the Shah, because of his outspokenness. Again, this made me roll my eyes. This is typical of Western hero stories, where the hero gains respect by "speaking the truth." The Shah orders Rob to cut out his side sickness (i.e. cut out the inflamed part of his appendix). But before Rob does that, he has the Shah protect Rebecca. This also made me roll my eyes because...there just seemed to be a disconnect in the story. The story was so focused on the political angle and the romantic subplot had always seemed like the odd one out. It just didn't really fit in the mood that had been built up.
And in return for Rob curing the Shah's appendicitis, the Shah allows him and the other Jewish residents of his city to escape, but of course, Rob's teacher Ibn Sina stays and dies in the burning city, while it is taken over by the new overlords.
At the end, through other people, we find out that Rob and Rebecca have returned to England and opened a hospital.
I'm not religious, but I felt iffy about the religious conflicts during the movie, especially since most of the malicious characters in the movie were Muslim. And the "good" Muslim characters all died (Karim, the Shah maybe).
Production
The camera work was fine, but the visuals and colour palette of this movie was just too drab. That's something that I notice A LOT with Western historical movies.
In England, Rob lived in a really muddy and swampy area, and in Isfahan, the environment was..."sandy," for lack of a better way to describe it. But in general, I just find that Western shows are unable to spice up the colour with something more attractive to the eyes. If this is supposed to be a hero's story, why am I not excited?
The cast is also...questionable. Most of the main characters are white, even when playing Middle Eastern characters. And all of the people who are visibly Middle Eastern are bad or die.
Characters
Rob
Rob is our main character. He was a generic hero character. Kind of a blank slate, but he would speak out against injustice whenever he saw it, social etiquette be damned. And it's supposed to endear him to those around him, especially those in power.
He also apparently had some sort of sixth sense for sensing death that was never explained. Basically he could sense when people would die, but it never really became a bit plot point.
Honestly I just have no feelings towards this character.
Barber
The barber was the father figure to Rob. He was rambunctious but cared for Rob. I guess he was the person who introduced Rob to the healing arts.
Rebecca
Rebecca was the love interest. They'd met when they were both travelling to Isfahan, which is obviously improper, but we're supposed to let that go. They find a child in the middle of their journey, but the child is a plot point for them to bond.
They were split up in a sandstorm and were later reunited when Rob was a student and Rebecca was revealed to be the bride of a esteemed Jewish man in the area.
Of course, it was an unhappy marriage as the husband was old and Rebecca was already in love with Rob. She was left behind during the Black Plague and it was during that time that Rob and Rebecca rekindled their love.
When Rebecca's husband returned (from having fled before the Black Plague), it was revealed that Rebecca was pregnant, but since she hadn't been having sex with her husband, it was obviously Rob's. Even though she slept with her husband to hide the infidelity, her husband somehow found out about it (unexplained) and she was to be punished, before Rob swooped in with his newfound leverage over the Shah and had her protected.
At the end of the movie, all of the Jewish people had left the city, and Rebecca roamed with Rob, presumably back to England.
All in all, her story was pretty unnecessary and it even broke up the tone of the movie at times when the romantic subplot didn't really fit the atmosphere.
Ibn Sina
Ibn Sina was the mentor figure to Rob while in Isfahan. In hindsight, Ibn Sina didn't really do that much for a large part of the movie. He was a teacher, but we didn't really see the effects of Rob learning except through montage. Ibn Sina felt more like a sounding board for Rob to express his thoughts on medicine and healing to, and Ibn Sina would represent the thoughts of the general public.
Rob and Ibn Sina were to be put to death as Rob was studying a corpse, which was condemned by several religions. When they were locked up together, Ibn Sina expressed that he was not angry at Rob at all because Rob was always his most gifted student, and he was interested in what Rob had seen. This made me roll my eyes (I did this a lot during this movie) because Ibn Sina was going to love his life for Rob's recklessness and his simple forgiveness and shared enthusiasm definitely felt way too easy of a copout for Rob. Not only did Rob put Ibn Sina to death, but Ibn Sina's entire healing academy would probably be no more. To someone as enthusiastic about healing as Ibn Sina, shouldn't that mean something?
In typical "mentor figure fashion," Ibn Sina did not leave Isfahan when it was being taken over by the new overlords, and instead decided to perish along with his school.
Mirdin
Mirdin was Rob's Jewish friend. He was mostly shown to be an ally, hiding Rebecca's pregnancy to protect Rob, etc.
Karim
Karim was another of Rob's friends made at the academy, a Muslim. He was apparently the son of a rich family and was outwardly lazy and boastful. But of course, the story had to show us that he was "one of the good ones," staying behind to help with the Black Plague and calling Rob and Mirdin his friends. He eventually died of the Black Plague himself.
Shah
The Shah was the ruler of Isfahan. He was proud and stubborn, and didn't want to evacuate the city when the Black Plague had struck. Rob had talked back to him and naturally that somehow endeared Rob to the Shah. So much so that Rob became hunting buddies with him.
In the end, the Shah had side sickness and he ordered Rob to perform surgery on him. It was successful, though the Shah was weak because he refused to rest and had to march off to war.
He died and lost Isfahan.
Davout
Davout worked at Ibn Sina's school but was shown to be kind of a bitter man. He wasn't a student, just somebody who did errands around the place, and from the beginning, he thought poorly of Rob.
He'd been attending gatherings where a Muslim preacher was saying prejudicial things about the other religious groups in the area. And it was through this group that Davout gained the bravery to accuse Rob and Ibn Sina of necromancy. And it was this group that allied with a Muslim group to take down the Shah.
Overall
This movie held no charm for me. It was a generic hero fantasy, and nothing about Rob's story made me sympathize with him. The Orientalist depictions also distracted me from enjoying the story.
So in general, this felt like a rather generic story. Not that charming to me, and despite its setting in the Middle East, it still felt extremely Anglo to me.
Spoilers.
Story
I haven't read the book that this movie is based on, so I am just going to consider this movie in isolation.
The story follows our main character, Rob Cole, as he heads to the Middle East to learn the healing arts. That part of the story is pretty straightforward. Rob takes a lot of risks, but he makes it out alive, thanks to the strong alliances during the course of the movie, mainly, respect from the Shah and from his mentor Ibn Sina.
When Rob cuts up a corpse (which is against several of the local religions), his mentor doesn't see that badly (despite him not really encouraging him before) because Rob was his best student. Admittedly I rolled my eyes.
Of course, there is a love story which was largely unnecessary to the story. Rebecca was betrothed to a local noble who treated her poorly. She'd fallen in love with Rob long ago on their journey and when they found each other again, she ended up having his baby. Her husband found out about it and was going to kill her.
Rob somehow caught the attention of the Shah, because of his outspokenness. Again, this made me roll my eyes. This is typical of Western hero stories, where the hero gains respect by "speaking the truth." The Shah orders Rob to cut out his side sickness (i.e. cut out the inflamed part of his appendix). But before Rob does that, he has the Shah protect Rebecca. This also made me roll my eyes because...there just seemed to be a disconnect in the story. The story was so focused on the political angle and the romantic subplot had always seemed like the odd one out. It just didn't really fit in the mood that had been built up.
And in return for Rob curing the Shah's appendicitis, the Shah allows him and the other Jewish residents of his city to escape, but of course, Rob's teacher Ibn Sina stays and dies in the burning city, while it is taken over by the new overlords.
At the end, through other people, we find out that Rob and Rebecca have returned to England and opened a hospital.
I'm not religious, but I felt iffy about the religious conflicts during the movie, especially since most of the malicious characters in the movie were Muslim. And the "good" Muslim characters all died (Karim, the Shah maybe).
Production
The camera work was fine, but the visuals and colour palette of this movie was just too drab. That's something that I notice A LOT with Western historical movies.
In England, Rob lived in a really muddy and swampy area, and in Isfahan, the environment was..."sandy," for lack of a better way to describe it. But in general, I just find that Western shows are unable to spice up the colour with something more attractive to the eyes. If this is supposed to be a hero's story, why am I not excited?
The cast is also...questionable. Most of the main characters are white, even when playing Middle Eastern characters. And all of the people who are visibly Middle Eastern are bad or die.
Characters
Rob
Rob is our main character. He was a generic hero character. Kind of a blank slate, but he would speak out against injustice whenever he saw it, social etiquette be damned. And it's supposed to endear him to those around him, especially those in power.
He also apparently had some sort of sixth sense for sensing death that was never explained. Basically he could sense when people would die, but it never really became a bit plot point.
Honestly I just have no feelings towards this character.
Barber
The barber was the father figure to Rob. He was rambunctious but cared for Rob. I guess he was the person who introduced Rob to the healing arts.
Rebecca
Rebecca was the love interest. They'd met when they were both travelling to Isfahan, which is obviously improper, but we're supposed to let that go. They find a child in the middle of their journey, but the child is a plot point for them to bond.
They were split up in a sandstorm and were later reunited when Rob was a student and Rebecca was revealed to be the bride of a esteemed Jewish man in the area.
Of course, it was an unhappy marriage as the husband was old and Rebecca was already in love with Rob. She was left behind during the Black Plague and it was during that time that Rob and Rebecca rekindled their love.
When Rebecca's husband returned (from having fled before the Black Plague), it was revealed that Rebecca was pregnant, but since she hadn't been having sex with her husband, it was obviously Rob's. Even though she slept with her husband to hide the infidelity, her husband somehow found out about it (unexplained) and she was to be punished, before Rob swooped in with his newfound leverage over the Shah and had her protected.
At the end of the movie, all of the Jewish people had left the city, and Rebecca roamed with Rob, presumably back to England.
All in all, her story was pretty unnecessary and it even broke up the tone of the movie at times when the romantic subplot didn't really fit the atmosphere.
Ibn Sina
Ibn Sina was the mentor figure to Rob while in Isfahan. In hindsight, Ibn Sina didn't really do that much for a large part of the movie. He was a teacher, but we didn't really see the effects of Rob learning except through montage. Ibn Sina felt more like a sounding board for Rob to express his thoughts on medicine and healing to, and Ibn Sina would represent the thoughts of the general public.
Rob and Ibn Sina were to be put to death as Rob was studying a corpse, which was condemned by several religions. When they were locked up together, Ibn Sina expressed that he was not angry at Rob at all because Rob was always his most gifted student, and he was interested in what Rob had seen. This made me roll my eyes (I did this a lot during this movie) because Ibn Sina was going to love his life for Rob's recklessness and his simple forgiveness and shared enthusiasm definitely felt way too easy of a copout for Rob. Not only did Rob put Ibn Sina to death, but Ibn Sina's entire healing academy would probably be no more. To someone as enthusiastic about healing as Ibn Sina, shouldn't that mean something?
In typical "mentor figure fashion," Ibn Sina did not leave Isfahan when it was being taken over by the new overlords, and instead decided to perish along with his school.
Mirdin
Mirdin was Rob's Jewish friend. He was mostly shown to be an ally, hiding Rebecca's pregnancy to protect Rob, etc.
Karim
Karim was another of Rob's friends made at the academy, a Muslim. He was apparently the son of a rich family and was outwardly lazy and boastful. But of course, the story had to show us that he was "one of the good ones," staying behind to help with the Black Plague and calling Rob and Mirdin his friends. He eventually died of the Black Plague himself.
Shah
The Shah was the ruler of Isfahan. He was proud and stubborn, and didn't want to evacuate the city when the Black Plague had struck. Rob had talked back to him and naturally that somehow endeared Rob to the Shah. So much so that Rob became hunting buddies with him.
In the end, the Shah had side sickness and he ordered Rob to perform surgery on him. It was successful, though the Shah was weak because he refused to rest and had to march off to war.
He died and lost Isfahan.
Davout
Davout worked at Ibn Sina's school but was shown to be kind of a bitter man. He wasn't a student, just somebody who did errands around the place, and from the beginning, he thought poorly of Rob.
He'd been attending gatherings where a Muslim preacher was saying prejudicial things about the other religious groups in the area. And it was through this group that Davout gained the bravery to accuse Rob and Ibn Sina of necromancy. And it was this group that allied with a Muslim group to take down the Shah.
Overall
This movie held no charm for me. It was a generic hero fantasy, and nothing about Rob's story made me sympathize with him. The Orientalist depictions also distracted me from enjoying the story.