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Epic vision, acting make ‘Gandhi’mesmerizingAfartiJi STieen, /e/f, and Ben Kingsley in Gandhi’“Gandhi” is now playing at the Len-sic.By JON BOWMAN The New Mexican Staff ir Richard Attenborough’s iwenty-year quest to film a biography of India's Mohandas K. Gandhi has ended in a sweeping epic that never loses sight of this mag-mfieent man._.4 reviewGandhi isn’t the most daring film in recent years, but is certainly among the most moving and breathtaking in its scope.Scenes showing Gandhi’s funeral procession, after he was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic in 1948, involve crowds of more than 300.000. The masses in D.W. Griffith’s classics seem paltry by comparison.Director Attenborough presents Gandhi’s life in a matter-of-fact fashion well-suited to his subject. The film follows the Indian prophet of non-vio-lence through 56 years, starting in South Africa, where he resisted the government's racist policies.Gandhi, while obviously a labor of love, isn't stilted or sanctimonious,Gandhi comes across as a great man with human fallibilities, a vast reservoir of warmth and unexpected humor.Ben Kingsley’s portrayal of the Mahatma is a crowning achievement. Kingsley displays not only an uncanny resemblence to Gandhi, but also a shrewd understanding of who the man was. His rendition of Gandhi is alwaysconvincing and usually mesmerizing.In the hands of a lesser actor. Gandhi could have appeared outmoded, or worse, a saintly caricature. Through Kinglsey, Gandhi and his pacifist principles come alive again.As the film opens. Gandhi is shown as a high-principled, but arrogant young lawyer who cuts his political teeth in rough-and-tumble South Africa Tensions are high among the country's oppressed Indian minority and they turn to Gandhi for help.He urges them to actively resist the government, but not to resort to violence. or their cause will fail At first, Gandhi’s counseling is met with skepticism. as the authorities tighten their reins and arrest Gandhi and thousands of his followersHe persists, however, telling a New York Times reporter. If you are a minority of one. the truth is still the truth.”Gandhi carried the lessons of South Africa with him the rest of his life. They became the cornerstone of his protracted, often tumultuous campaign to win independence for his homeland of India, still under the colonial dominion of Great Britain.Attenborough’s film focuses primarily on that campaign, including Gandhi’s triumphant Salt March to Dan-dhi, as well as the ignom inious 1919 massacre at Amritsar.The film, however, also shows the private side of this public figure. In a telling scene, Gandhi and his wife squabble about she refuses she clean the latrines at their ashram.
Newspaper Details
Santa Fe New Mexican
Santa Fe, New Mexico, US
Fri, Feb 25, 1983
Page 50
Full Page
Clipped by
Jon C.
NJ, USA 14 Jan 2020
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