A grandiloquent, sweeping epic of a biopic, director Richard Attenborough (Cry Freedom, Shadowlands) presents 50 years of world history in a stately three hour running time.
From a young lawyer arriving in apartheid South Africa to his assassination in New Delhi in January 1948, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (a performance of a lifetime by Ben Kingsley – Schindler’s List, Sexy Beast) believed and preached nonviolent resistance to colonial injustices. As India struggled for independence from British rule, so Gandhi became the figurehead for the struggle. Imprisoned many times by the authorities, his political ethics won millions of followers but also saw the rise of internal factionalism as others looked to violence to achieve their aims.
Grand in scope, there is an inevitability of an episodic narrative as Gandhi covers some 50 years of his life and times with Attenborough highlighting the excesses of British injustice. Gandhi’s wife Kasturba (Rohini Hattangadi – Agneepath, Pukar) remained steadfast in her support as the pressures increased. It all looks beautiful (cinematographers Ronnie Taylor and Billy Williams) but ultimately feels a little worthy, a little too deferential to its subject. But Gandhi still remains something of a cinematic achievement.
Nominated for 11 Oscars in 1983 including sound and original score, won 8 including best film, director, actor, original screenplay, cinematography, editing.
Rating: 69%
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