Film Review
Richard Attenborough does a pretty good job of out-doing David Lean in
the sprawling epic stakes with this lavish magnum opus, his ambitious
account of the life of his personal hero Mahatma Gandhi.
Attenborough had long hankered after making this film and it took him
twenty years to realise his life's ambition, with financial support
from the Indian government.
The film has great strengths, but also many weaknesses.
Certainly, it is a visually stunning piece of cinema, its breathtaking
panoramic shots of the Indian landscape imbuing it with a grandeur that
befits its subject. Ben Kingsley was a controversial choice at
the time for the part of Gandhi, although his nuanced and engaging
performance proved to be the film's greatest asset. On the minus
side, the film is unevenly paced and feels uncomfortably like what you
might end up with if you hacked a ten-part TV drama-documentary into a
feature film. There is little in the way of forward momentum and
at times the film just seems to drift, not quiet knowing where it is
heading.
This is something of a missed opportunity, since it fails to go much
beyond the Gandhi myth and appears to want merely to canonise instead
of understanding the man who played such a pivotal part in India
gaining independence from the British. Attenborough is clearly so
in awe of Gandhi that you wonder whether he was really the most
appropriate person to direct the film. Interestingly, he had
approached the great Indian cineaste Satyajit Ray to make the
film, but Ray declined as he was not a great admirer of Gandhi.
The failings in the screenplay are revealed by the way in which the
other characters are presented, almost as inconsequential window
dressing. For example, Nehru is reduced to being a bland disciple
of Gandhi, and, if you believe the film, he only became President of
India because Gandhi wished it. The film's superficial
characterisation exposes a shocking lack of background research,
something that risks distorting the truth merely to reinforce the
simplistic view that Gandhi, a living saint, created modern India
single-handedly.
Somewhat all too predictably, the film had a massive impact at the
Oscars, winning in eight of the eleven categories it was nominated
for. It won the Best Picture and Best Director awards, Ben
Kingsley walked away with the Best Actor award, and awards were given
for its art direction, screenplay, cinematography and costume
design. The film was broadly well received by the critics when it
was first seen, although it is generally somewhat less well-regarded
today.
The film's simplistic depiction of real events and its irksome
blockbuster excesses (which include a needlessly star-studded cast)
somehow diminish it as a tribute to Gandhi, a man who shunned personal
glory and rejected material comfort for most of his life. It
might even be said that the film is a vulgar trivialisation of Gandhi's
achievements, promulgating the popular myth whilst not really coming to
grips with the man himself. The film is impressive as a piece of
cinema in its own right, but as a meaningful biopic it is woefully
inadequate.
© James Travers 2010
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Next Richard Attenborough film:
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Film Synopsis
After being subjected to racial intimidation in South Africa, Indian
lawyer Mohandas Gandhi organises a non-violent campaign of opposition
to the country's discriminatory laws. When he succeeds in getting
these laws repealed, he returns to his native India, and a hero's
welcome. Gandhi is persuaded to support the campaign for
Indian independence, but he does so on the understanding that there
will be no violence on the Indian side. Despite various attempts
by the British to break his will and his influence over the Indian
population, Gandhi remains adamant that, sooner or later, his people
will be free to govern their own affairs. But when independence
comes, in 1947, India's problems are far from over. As Hindus and
Muslims come to blows over who will now govern the country, India risks
erupting into bloody civil war...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.