Gandhi (1982)
Passive resistance is simple enough in concept but far more difficult to apply in reality, and to effect such dramatic change on a global scale is mind-boggling. Gandhi is the true story of how one man did just that. He altered our collective perception and awareness while changing the course of history. Ben Kingsley inhabits the title role and gives a star-making and Oscar-winning performance, but the film is Richard Attenborough’s dream project. A popular actor himself, with classics like Jurassic Park, The Sand Pebbles, and Doctor Dolittle, Attenborough expanded into directing and producing and spent 18 years trying to get this picture made. Finally, the cameras rolled in 1980. Over 300,000 extras were used for the funeral sequence alone—the most for any movie in history—but there are many scenes with countless people inhabiting a world of upheaval in India from 1893 to 1948. Those sheer numbers make a profound statement on screen. Today, these visuals would be achieved using CGI, but there is something special and emotional about observing a sea of living human beings gathered together to recreate key moments in the advancement of humanity.
The story begins with the assassination and funeral in 1948, then flashes back to a train ride through South Africa in 1893 that forever alters 23-year-old Mohandas K. Gandhi’s life. Despite having a first-class ticket, the young lawyer is thrown from the train for refusing to move to third class. He then sets about orchestrating a successful, non-violent campaign of resistance against their biased laws, and in time, he achieves great progress. He returns to India in 1915 as somewhat of a national hero and is urged to lead the fight for India’s independence from the British Empire.
Their journey to freedom is a long and difficult one, with event after event revealing both triumph and tragedy, sacrifice and reward, until at last they achieve their dream … only to have their beloved India still divided by internal conflicts between Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs.
What is most impressive about Gandhi—the man and the movie—is the sheer power of one person’s unwavering, non-violent resistance and how it can evolve through clarity of communication, purity of will, and strength of purpose into a global movement. This non-conforming path has been followed by other notable game-changers in history, such as Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, Jr. Simple, truthful actions that yield massive shockwaves. Advancements are attained but not without profound losses and sacrifices, as this film conveys by the sheer number of people we see depicting each conflict.
The performances are all excellent, and many of the principal Indian cast ages during the vast span of time in the story. Rohini Hattangadi as Gandhi’s wife Kasturba is particularly moving. My hat goes off to the Oscar-nominated makeup, which is both subtle and believable. The core Indian cast is surrounded by recognizable “Hollywood talent.” Candice Bergen, Martin Sheen, John Gielgud, Richard Griffiths, Trevor Howard, Nigel Hawthorne, John Mills, Ian Charleson, and a young Daniel Day-Lewis (in his screen debut) come and go throughout the story.
As a movie, Gandhi is an old-fashioned epic, the kind of giant-sized picture that was popular in the late ’50s and early ’60s, such as Lawrence of Arabia or Ben-Hur. A “cast of thousands” doesn’t begin to cover it, in this case. But in the end, it’s the smaller, personal tale. That’s what resonates for me. The true story of a man who held onto his beliefs and his dignity at all costs. A man who dared to say, “No, this won’t do,” and changed the world.
Gandhi
Director | Richard Attenborough |
Primary Cast | Ben Kingsley, Rohini Hattangadi, Roshan Seth, Candice Bergen, Edward Fox, John Gielgud, Trevor Howard, John Mills, Martin Sheen, Ian Charleson, Athol Fugard, Geraldine James, Saeed Jaffrey, Richard Griffiths, Nigel Hawthorne, Daniel Day-Lewis, Bernard Hill, John Ratzenberger |
Familiar Faces | John Gielgud from Around the World in 80 Days and Chariots of Fire, Trevor Howard and John Mills from Around the World in 80 Days, Ian Charleson and Richard Griffiths from Chariots of Fire |
Firsts | Feature film debut of Daniel Day-Lewis, first Indian-born person to win an Oscar (Bhanu Athaiya, co-winner of Best Costume Design) |
Total Wins | 8 (Picture, Director, Actor: Ben Kingsley, Screenplay: Original, Cinematography, Editing, Art Direction, Costume Design) |
Total Nominations | 11 (Picture, Director, Actor: Ben Kingsley, Screenplay: Original, Cinematography, Editing, Art Direction, Costume Design, Sound, Score: Original, Makeup) |
Viewing Format | Blu-ray Disc |
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