Review of Gandhi (1982) by Harry W — 17 Nov 2013

Gandhi is a man I never knew much about, as a I knew of him was that he was some kind of peace activist that went on a hunger strike which I learned through several media references, but a Best Picture Oscar winning feature length biopic is the perfect way for me to learn.

Richard Attenborough's direction is excellent, because as a British man this is his way of paying tribute to all the victimised Indians that the British caused suffering to, and it seems like his way of apologising too. And it works, because it's an intelligent large-scale insightful biopic which emphasises the importance of who Mahatma Gandhi was as well as for what he did for his people and therefore the historical icon he became, even though he started as a lawyer. It's an incredible journey he made, and Richard Attenborough documents that very well. His depiction is spot on in its realism and is a powerful visual experience. Particularly the scene depicting the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, that's the most powerful scene in the film and arguably the most memorable.

Gandhi is also a culturally enriching film, because the production design gives us a strong visual sense about what the Indian people are faced with living in, while the music gives us a sense of the developing atmosphere as Mahatma Gandhi becomes more involved in the development of Indian culture and a more influential figure. Gandhi is one of those films where you can actually feel the development occur, and it happens so naturally that eventually you forget that this is a film.

Ben Kingsley as Gandhi is one of the finest examples of casting the unarguably perfect actor for such an important role in a film depicting important history in the making. Ben Kingsley doesn't play Gandhi, Ben Kingsley becomes Gandhi, because like Gandhi was at the beginning of the film, Ben Kingsley begins as a man in a big position and turns into a cultural icon from that, that icon being Mahatma Gandhi. Ben Kingsley cleverly develops visually and vocally as the story moves along, and by the end he has embraced his role so perfectly that it's all the more difficult to watch him become assassinated the second time around. Ben Kingsley makes Gandhi into what it is and what it needs to have been to succeed, and he is the highlight of the film.

The only issues I found were that since Gandhi is such a long tale that chronicles such an important historical figure throughout his entire career as a cultural leader, it has a lot of ground to cover. And sometimes it just feels like things are moving a bit too slowly or aren't explaining everything that they could have, and the pacing gradually becomes slower as the movie moves along, and although this isn't too negative, it just leaves viewers affected by adjusting to a constantly changing pace which becomes slower and may slowly dull the dynamics to certain viewers.

So Gandhi is a powerful biopic with strong direction, a powerful atmosphere and an impeccable actor in the lead role.