This is going to be a very short review for a very long film. While recent biopics have focused on the most interesting parts of their subjects’ lives, Gandhi is devoted to painting a broad picture of the life and work of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. While there is no lack of drama and power, director Richard Attenborough’s approach results in a slow pace that will be a turn-off for many viewers. But if you are determined enough to tackle this lengthy, weighty film, you will find yourself awestruck.
The film opens with Gandhi’s assassination and funeral. We then flash back to 1893, where Gandhi experiences segregation and injustice for being ‘colored’ while working as a lawyer in South Africa. This motivates the young man to lead a non-violent movement for the rights of Indian people in the country. After several brutal incidents with the authorities, Gandhi’s movement gains international attention and his people are awarded their rights.
Several years later, Gandhi returns to his homeland, where he is welcomed as a national hero. He is successfully recruited into being one of the leaders for India’s struggle for independence from the British Empire. Much of the film covers this, the bulk of his life’s work, as he uses civil disobedience to highlight Britain’s oppression of the Indian people. Many of Gandhi’s struggles, triumphs and disappointments play out as India moves towards independence and faces conflict after attaining that goal.
Gandhi is an epic film. The scope, the locations, the subject matter- everything about this film is epic. It may not feature any dazzling camerawork or mind-blowing special effects but you will have a hard time topping the human drama on display here. Independence, freedom, justice and dignity are all goals and themes that resonate with us all. Seeing one man lead such a large-scale struggle for all of these things is astounding. Add to this the fact that everything in this film is based on real events and you cannot help but be overwhelmed by the audacity and fortitude of Gandhi.
Ben Kingsley’s performance is crucial to this film’s success. Many biopics falter in casting and hire actors and actresses who bear little to no resemblance to the real person being featured. Kingsley, hands down, looks just like Gandhi in this film. It certainly helps that Kingsley’s ancestry hails from the same region of India as Gandhi but it’s more than just that. Kingsley goes all out for the part, losing a dramatic amount of weight and perfectly affecting Gandhi’s voice and mannerisms. Beyond Kingsley, not much really matters in this film regarding the cast. It’s a film called Gandhi and they got Gandhi so right it’s chilling.
Richard Attenborough has stated that he never meant to become a director; he just wanted to direct this film. Considering it took Attenborough nearly 20 years to make his dream project a reality, the attention to detail in this film makes all the more sense. Sure, this results in a three-hour-plus historical drama that may bore those in the current ADHD Generation to tears at times, but cinephiles, history buffs and anyone who cares about humanity in general will consider Gandhi a triumph. It truly is an experience that words fall short of describing, so I won’t even try elaborating further.
This is going to be a very short review for a very long film. While recent biopics have focused on the most interesting parts of their subjects’ lives, Gandhi is devoted to painting a broad picture of the life and work of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. While there is no lack of drama and power, director Richard Attenborough’s approach results in a slow pace that will be a turn-off for many viewers. But if you are determined enough to tackle this lengthy, weighty film, you will find yourself awestruck.
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