Review of Gandhi (1982) by Adrian B — 02 May 2011

I could dismiss "Gandhi" for being too long and too detailed for its story, but I can't. It succeeds thanks to Kingsley performance and the rich cinematography. The film is of course about the influential figure, Mohatma Gandhi, who began as a person trying to make Indians in South Africa equal citizens and then heading back to his home country to do the same, through a variation of peaceful of demonstrations. Sometime he has success; other times, definately not! The best things about this film is Kingsley Oscar winning performance, the pictures of the landscape and set pieces, and the stunning makeup, which makes Kingsley look exactly like the lengendary figure. Oh boy, though, how I wish the film was much shorter and the pacing definately could have been a bit faster. In addition, there are some odd casting choices, including Candice Bergen as the photographer named White. Mainly rewarding film.

Note: To those who have seen David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia," director Attenborough was obviously inspired by that film. The fact that the beginning shows Gandhi's death was obviously a near of the begining of the Lean's epic in which Lawrence is killed in the motorcycle accident. Also the fact that both films very long.