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Gandhi is an epic, in the true sense of the word,
and goes for more than three hours. And yet, while at times
it does slow, you are always enticed onwards by Ben Kingsley's
stunning display of acting.
The guy definitely made himself Gandhi - in look, voice and
characteristics - and deservedly won his golden statue for
the effort. The movie itself took out eight Oscars, not to
mention a horde of other prestigious awards.
Gandhi follows the life of the peaceful revolutionary
from his journey to South Africa where he discovered that
being articulate, intelligent and a trained lawyer cut very
little ice with the boorish (or is that boer-ish) South African
regime.
Mind you, the Jaapies found they couldn't hold ignore the
human whirlwind and eventually gave in to his demands for
the Indian (Coloured) population.
Back in his home country, Gandhi found that the independence
movement was split along Hindu/Muslim lines and the poor were
despicably treated by those with money.
Sir Richard Attenborough clearly was awestruck by Gandhi
the man and - together with Kingsley - has turned him into
a saint. Perhaps he is portrayed as being just a little too
perfect, but you can forgive Attenborough going over the top.
After all, how can you not be a tad impressed with a bloke
who decides to try to starve himself to death so his supporters
will stop committing acts of violence. One of the most telling
scenes is where a wild-eyed Hindu confesses to Gandhi he had
killed a child by bashing its brains out. Gandhi, weak from
lack of food, says he will be forgiven if he takes into his
care another child. Only it had to be Muslim and he had to
raise it as one.
The backing cast is exceptional and despite all the Hollywood
names getting higher billing, the Indian contingent is exceptional.
Alyque Padamsee is coldly compelling as Mohammed Ali Jinnah,
the founder of Pakistan, Saaed Jaffrey is superb as Gandhi's
friend Patel, Roshan Seth plays India's first independent
leader Pandit Nehru beautifully and Rohini Hattangadi is excellent
as Gandhi's wife Kasturba.
The photography is at times breathtaking, but its transfer
on to DVD sometimes lets the imagery down. While it is guilty
of pixelisation, dirty marks and edge enhancement - overall
it won't detract from your enjoyment of the movie.
This is a long movie, so set aside an evening with no distractions
and just wallow in Attenborough's cinematic indulgence.
Conclusion: Movie 90%, Extras 75%
Continued:
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