Product Details

• Actors: Naveen Andrews, Ranjit Chowdhry, Sharon Dyer, Craig Eldridge, David Fox
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Showtime Ent.
• VHS Release Date: June 13, 2000
• Run Time: 95 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1929732279
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,290 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

In this moving true story, an East Indian doctor takes over a hospital department of infectious diseases in rural Tennessee, just as the AIDS epidemic is sweeping the nation. Naveen Andrews (The English Patient) plays Dr. Abraham Verghese, a young family man who immerses himself in the lives of his patients. First, he must educate the residents of Johnson City, Tennessee, about AIDS. "What was common in New York and San Francisco was unheard of here," says Verghese. Before long, however, the compassionate Dr. Verghese is overwhelmed with a caseload of 82 people suffering with AIDS from hundreds of miles around. The acting in the film is first rate, with Academy Award winner Marisa Tomei playing a simple southern girl whose beloved brother (played by her real-life sibling, Adam Tomei) is dying of the disease. Glenne Headly's portrayal of a dirt-poor housewife who catches AIDS from her philandering husband is also especially strong. Mira Nair, director of such films as Mississippi Masala, brings her intimate knowledge of Indian traditions to the film, lending invaluable authenticity to its theme of clashing cultures. An engrossing, heart-rending picture, My Own Country is a true original that deserves a wider audience. --Laura Mirsky

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great video, but heartwrenching, June 24, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: My Own Country [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I saw this movie several years ago. It took me days to stop thinking about it. I thought all of the acting was good-to-excellent, and the subject matter is extraordinarily powerful. This is NOT just for homosexuals or people coming to grips with AIDS. This is a wonderful exploration of the prejudices that occured with the emergence of AIDS in this country (and continue to be a problem in some quarters even today). But the subject matter is somewhat disturbing. It really makes you stop and THINK about the AIDS epidemic and it really brings home what is happening in Africa right now.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Really Good Performance By Naveen Andrews, But..., July 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: My Own Country [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Naveen Andrews is a fine actor; he was really good in The Buddha of Suburbia and The English Patient. However, this movie doesn't show his fullest potential as an performer. I felt the screenplay was a bit under-developed. Many important and interesting events that happened in the book version either got little attention or got cut out altogether in the film version. I am a bit disappointed by Mira Nair; having seen the well-written, well-directed Mississippi Masala, I was expecting better from her. I suggest reading the autobiography by Dr. Verghese before seeing the movie.

Nonetheless, this is still a good movie and I suggest everyone to see it. My only problem is that Marissa Tomei got top billing on this film, when she appears for only ten minutes. The kudos should have been given to Andrews, who portrays a doctor who did a very brave act of humanity in a time when it was seen that way.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Movie!, July 27, 2006

By 

Wendy Schroeder (Englewood, Co United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: My Own Country [VHS] (VHS Tape)

It's a sad but yet beautiful story of love for humanity. Dr. Abraham Verghese came to America to practice medicine. His specialty is infectious disease. He came here in the '80s so of course he has to deal with AIDS. At that time you would not think it would be in Tennessee. He treated his patients with not just respect but with love. He truly cared about his patients. To the point his marriage was in jeopardy.

He was from India and Johnson City, Tennessee was where he ended up. He wasn't treated like a outsider, the town folks treated him with dignity, as one of their own. Dr. Verghese felt like it was his own country.

So many people think Southerners are a cruel backward people like in Deliverance. They're not. They may be behind the times but if you treat them respectfully, they will bend over backward for you.