Gandhi

As soon as I finished watching Gandhi, I thought to myself "This movie had to have won Best Picture." I think it's one of the best epics of all time. It masterfully tells one of the most important stories of the 20th century, that of India's struggle to free itself, spearheaded by one of the most extraordinary men of all time, Mahatma Gandhi. I would be hard pressed to name anything lacking about it. Direction, cinematography, costumes, they're all great. And Ben Kingsley! Without a doubt his portrayal of Gandhi is one of the best performances of his career, if not THE best. Playing the pacifist Indian lawyer-turned-leader couldn't have been an easy task, and I don't think anyone could have pulled it off as well as he did. This movie deserves all the praise anyone gives it and more. Excellent.

Very, VERY few films have had the distinct ability to move and inspire me to the point where the effect is almost life-altering. "Gandhi" - the unbelievable, first-rate biopic on the historical figure - is truly one of those films, no question whatsoever. An unsurprising sweep for the 1983 Academy Awards, this is without a doubt one of the last real "epic" motion pictures ever.

Chronicling the rich, unforgettable life of a one Mohandas K. "Mahatma" Gandhi - played to shocking perfection by the wonderful Sir Ben Kingsley - this is a film that I can say really, deeply affected me with its power, its scale, and of course, its timeless message of love and non-violence. As a matter of fact, ever since I first saw the film, and became much more aware of the back story, I can also say that Gandhi is now one of my biggest role models in life. I cannot fully express how much this great man's way of thinking - his words, his struggles, his accomplishments - has affected my own, for I am now a practicing pacifist. I am a firm believer in the value of non-violent protest, and have tried my best to apply that philosophy to most situations in my life. It has worked wonders for me, and has really changed how I view the world in terms of human nature and so forth. Like I said, VERY few films can do something like that to me.

As an Indian watching this film, in 2020 no less, you need to take this movie with a grain of salt. History was indeed made by one man in this film, however it has entirely omitted the sacrifices by others almost equally important.

Richard Attenborough, a legend himself, has taken on a gargantuan task by helming such a powerful and historic project. While critics and historians can argue night and day, as a movie goer, this is movie shows the humble beginnings of even humbler old man who shaped a nation.

Ben Kingsley bears such a remarkable resemblance to the real Ghandi himself, you often forget this is a film and not a documentary of the real man. His performance is strongly commended and near flawless.

A must watch for movie buffs and historians everywhere.

Thinking back, I suppose I have now seen many (sometimes good) films that follow the same recipe: One man makes a difference.

But this film is an exception in so many ways:

1) It was made in 1982, so it came before many of them.

2) It has amazingly well-displayed historical significance.

3) Great performances in a near-flawless, frank scrpit.

This film does not bother the viewer with an opening montage of scenes of the main character at various ages ("Dragon", I'm looking at you). This is an amazing film that anyone of any religion, race, or nationality can and should appreciate. With its subtle relevance to today's situations in that part of the world, this is a history buff must-see.

Watch this film and see great performances (an obvious oscar went to Ben Kingsly), excellent cinematography, and a wonderful inspiring story, whose essence soars well above the corny, do-gooder mentality of other pitiful efforts of "bio-pics".

10/10

... and long may it continue to do so. Remains an incredible piece of storytelling and film making about one of few individuals the world has delivered, that can truly be referred to as a great leader - and not just of his people but of the peace loving populations of the world. Ben Kingsley perfectly embodies Gandhi to the point that you can almost believe he is performing in his own biopic. Let's also not forget, alongside a great telling of an inspirational journey, we get a history lesson of the impact of empire. It should encourage you to dig a bit deeper to uncover some rather alarming truths that the imperialists would rather you didn't appraise yourself of, undertaken by the usual white middle aged and older men who thought they were created better than the rest of the worlds demographics they sought to control.