LIFE'S MORE THAN FARE TO CABBIE IN `FANATIC'.

Byline: Bob Strauss Film Critic

The fine Indian actor Om Puri gives a world-class performance in ``My Son the Fanatic'' as, interestingly, a man discovering that he has no place in the world.

In this complex piece of cross-cultural tragicomedy, written with astute insight by Hanif Kureishi (``My Beautiful Laundrette'') and directed by Udayan Prasad (``Brothers in Trouble''), Puri plays put-upon Parvez. An immigrant from Pakistan who's spent the last 25 years driving a cab around the dreary north England town of Bradford, Parvez has long been contented enough with his comfy-if-cramped home, his little family and the basement rumpus room where he indulges the solitary joys of good Scotch and Dixieland jazz records.

A series of events, however, force Parvez to examine his unremarkable existence. His son Farid (Akbar Kurtha) suddenly calls off his engagement to an English girl, the first of many steps down a path toward Islamic fundamentalism. His long-disappointed wife Minoo (Gopi Desai) sets to wondering aloud why Parvez hasn't done as well as his more ambitious buddies from the old country. Then a wealthy German businessman (Stellan Skarsgard) comes to town to party hearty, and in the process both abuses the driver-procurer and encourages him to get more carnal fun out of life.

Most disorienting of all, however, is the growing mutual affection between the German's favorite prostitute, Bettina (Rachel Griffiths), and Parvez. Far from the standard hooker-with-a-heart-of-gold, Bettina is a relatively intelligent, sensitive sort who makes a true emotional connection with the much-older cabbie. Their relationship is propelled by the magnetic tenderness of two searching souls tentatively orbiting kindred - but otherwise inappropriate - spirits.

Rewarding as this affair is, it of course exacerbates the many crises in Parvez's life. The personal becomes alarmingly political as Farid and his radical friends organize an anti-prostitution campaign. But even without his son's wholesale rejection of his liberal-minded outlook, Parvez can't help but face the long-avoided fact that the place he feels most comfortable living is a place that will always consider him, if not an outsider, at least not a full-fledged member of the community.

Told almost entirely from Parvez's point of view, ``Fanatic'' ranks among the screen's most complete and compassionate midlife-crisis movies. Never straining too much nor failing to give a feeling its full emotional weight, Puri captures all the contradictions that sustain this deceptively complicated man. He shows how a guy can cherish his family while still needing to cheat on his wife, put up with prejudice if that's the trade-off for a little extra personal freedom, and define pride as a kind of self-honesty that has nothing to do with prescribed notions of respect.

``My Son the Fanatic'' presents a rare drama indeed: a man growing at a time in his life when that's the last thing anyone, including himself, expects him to do.

THE FACTS

The film: ``My Son the Fanatic'' (R; sex, language, nudity, drug use, racism).

The stars: Om Puri, Rachel Griffiths, Stellan Skarsgard, Akbar Kurtha, Gopi Desai.

Behind the scenes: Directed by Udayan Prasad. Written by Hanif Kureishi. Produced by Chris Curling. Released by Miramax Films.

Running time: One hour, 26 minutes.

Playing: Laemmle Sunset 5, West Hollywood; Westside Pavilion, West L.A.

Our rating: Three and One-half Stars

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PHOTO Cabdriver Parvez (Om Puri) and prostitute Bettina (Rachel Griffiths) discover a mutual affection in ``My Son the Fanatic.''