Gandhi (A or 4/4 stars)
'Gandhi' (directed by Richard Attenborough, 10 Rillington Place, Oh, What a Lovely War!) presents a portrait of an extraordinary man who changed history; though not as radically as he would have hoped. Attenborough gives us an ambitious film of epic scale; attempting to imitate the very best of David Lean's films (The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago, A Passage to India, etc.).
Spanning more than 5 decades in the life of Gandhi's civil rights & freedom struggle, the film opens in 1893 when Mohandas K. Gandhi (Ben Kingsley) is thrown off a South African train for being an Indian & traveling as a person of color in a 1st class compartment with royal Britishers. While in South Africa, for the next 14 yrs., the struggling British-trained attorney decides to start a non-violent protest campaign for the rights of all Indians in South Africa. And it is after numerous arrests & worldwide publicity that the South African gov't finally relents by recognizing rights for Indians, though not for the native blacks of their own nation.
Gandhi is invited back to India in 1915 as a hero to fight for India's independence from the British Empire, & mounts a non-violent campaign of enormous magnitude. Over the years there are incidents of violence against the protesters & Gandhi is imprisoned, once again. The protests continue through WWII & gain worldwide coverage; especially in newsreels, as a tired England (from the war) finally grants India her independence. But problems continue, as religious tensions btwn. Hindus & Muslims erupt into nationwide violence. Gandhi then declares a hunger strike, & does not eat until the fighting stops. Against Gandhi's hopes, the country is divided, but the fighting does stop. After the Partition of India, the new Muslim countries are called Pakistan & Bangladesh. And while Gandhi was still trying to work out a more peaceful solution to the religious conflict, an angry dissident assassinates the 78 yr. old.
'Gandhi' epitomizes the term "epic". There is a 50 yr. scope. The panoramic cinematography is beautiful. The period design is out of this world. The costumes are authentic. The musical score has appropriate grandness. The direction is stately. The writing is smart. There is an amazing mob scene (a slaughter, really) in which more extras appear in it than any other scene of any previous historical epic. Richard Attenborough gives us a fairly straightforward biopic, here. Meat & potatoes filmmaking. But it's also a highly immersive film; even more so the longer it goes. The movie canonizes Gandhi, & in the process, kind of distorts the historical period it covers (Gandhi's rivals don't get proper characterization/treatment, at times). But these small flaws give way to the superb, charismatic performance of Kingsley (also half-Indian), who not only infuses him with great dignity & determination, but he physically resembles the martyr, as well. It's astonishing work.
As for the supporting roles, Candice Bergen plays American photographer, Margaret Bourke-White. John Gielgud plays Lord Irwin. John Mills plays the Viceroy. Martin Sheen plays Walker. Edward Fox is chilling as British Gen. Dwyer - commander of the massacre of 1,500 Indian men, women, & children by native soldiers. Roshan Seth is great as a Gandhi disciple named Nehru. Trevor Howard plays Judge Broomfield. And young Daniel Day-Lewis has a small role as a street bully. I mean, what a cast! Now, I would have liked all of these characters to have been more fleshed-out. But then again, this film IS over 3 hours long.
Though the film gets occasionally stodgy/tedious, 'Gandhi' is nonetheless impressive in its several epic sequences: the Salt March, the post-Patriotic riots, & the unfortunate assassination. 'Gandhi' also does a great job of incorporating the hopeful theme that revolution can be peaceful. Mohandas Gandhi was-&-is a truly inspiring individual. Attenborough is obviously enamored by his title character; and he tries to understand/impart to us Gandhi's philosophy, his complex actions, as well as his private persona. The movie isn't perfect. But I still found it to be extraordinary. Just know that you're settling in for a 180+ minute affair.
Spanning more than 5 decades in the life of Gandhi's civil rights & freedom struggle, the film opens in 1893 when Mohandas K. Gandhi (Ben Kingsley) is thrown off a South African train for being an Indian & traveling as a person of color in a 1st class compartment with royal Britishers. While in South Africa, for the next 14 yrs., the struggling British-trained attorney decides to start a non-violent protest campaign for the rights of all Indians in South Africa. And it is after numerous arrests & worldwide publicity that the South African gov't finally relents by recognizing rights for Indians, though not for the native blacks of their own nation.
Gandhi is invited back to India in 1915 as a hero to fight for India's independence from the British Empire, & mounts a non-violent campaign of enormous magnitude. Over the years there are incidents of violence against the protesters & Gandhi is imprisoned, once again. The protests continue through WWII & gain worldwide coverage; especially in newsreels, as a tired England (from the war) finally grants India her independence. But problems continue, as religious tensions btwn. Hindus & Muslims erupt into nationwide violence. Gandhi then declares a hunger strike, & does not eat until the fighting stops. Against Gandhi's hopes, the country is divided, but the fighting does stop. After the Partition of India, the new Muslim countries are called Pakistan & Bangladesh. And while Gandhi was still trying to work out a more peaceful solution to the religious conflict, an angry dissident assassinates the 78 yr. old.
'Gandhi' epitomizes the term "epic". There is a 50 yr. scope. The panoramic cinematography is beautiful. The period design is out of this world. The costumes are authentic. The musical score has appropriate grandness. The direction is stately. The writing is smart. There is an amazing mob scene (a slaughter, really) in which more extras appear in it than any other scene of any previous historical epic. Richard Attenborough gives us a fairly straightforward biopic, here. Meat & potatoes filmmaking. But it's also a highly immersive film; even more so the longer it goes. The movie canonizes Gandhi, & in the process, kind of distorts the historical period it covers (Gandhi's rivals don't get proper characterization/treatment, at times). But these small flaws give way to the superb, charismatic performance of Kingsley (also half-Indian), who not only infuses him with great dignity & determination, but he physically resembles the martyr, as well. It's astonishing work.
As for the supporting roles, Candice Bergen plays American photographer, Margaret Bourke-White. John Gielgud plays Lord Irwin. John Mills plays the Viceroy. Martin Sheen plays Walker. Edward Fox is chilling as British Gen. Dwyer - commander of the massacre of 1,500 Indian men, women, & children by native soldiers. Roshan Seth is great as a Gandhi disciple named Nehru. Trevor Howard plays Judge Broomfield. And young Daniel Day-Lewis has a small role as a street bully. I mean, what a cast! Now, I would have liked all of these characters to have been more fleshed-out. But then again, this film IS over 3 hours long.
Though the film gets occasionally stodgy/tedious, 'Gandhi' is nonetheless impressive in its several epic sequences: the Salt March, the post-Patriotic riots, & the unfortunate assassination. 'Gandhi' also does a great job of incorporating the hopeful theme that revolution can be peaceful. Mohandas Gandhi was-&-is a truly inspiring individual. Attenborough is obviously enamored by his title character; and he tries to understand/impart to us Gandhi's philosophy, his complex actions, as well as his private persona. The movie isn't perfect. But I still found it to be extraordinary. Just know that you're settling in for a 180+ minute affair.