Nominated in: 1983
Did it win? Yes
Worth watching? Yes
Standout performance: Sir Ben Kingsley as Gandhi
Watchfl’s favorite quote: “Whenever I despair, I remember that the way of truth and love has always won. There may be tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they may seem invincible, but in the end, they always fail. Think of it: always.” – Gandhi
Gandhi was a huge undertaking for me, but worth it. It’s long, it’s subdued and it’s deep – an excellent history lesson on the life of a revolutionary, but similar to The Killing Fields (the last nominee I watched) in tone: it’s not a movie you just pop in.
As with The Killing Fields, I was disappointed in myself for how little I knew about the subject. I was surprised to learn Gandhi was a successful lawyer before he gave everything up to live among the poor in India. It was amazing how far he advanced the basic rights of the Indian people and how much notoriety he gained while living such a ferociously simple life of poverty and peaceful resistance. The film’s impactfulness should be credited mostly to Gandhi himself (there was no way this movie could not be impressive) and secondarily to Ben Kingsley, who transforms himself for the role of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi with great success. His performance earned him the Oscar.
To examine the plot, or more of Gandhi’s life, would give away the story. Instead, I will simply say this is a great film with great performances, well worth a viewing if only to educate yourself about this historic figure.
2 Comments
March 10, 2009 at 4:23 am
The timing of your post is perfect when Gandhi’s memorabilia has just been auctioned in New York couple of days before.
http://bale-blog-ia.blogspot.com/2009/03/m-k-gandhi-gone-oncetwice.html
March 19, 2009 at 12:42 am
Sacrifice- just how lost is that concept in 21st century western civilization?
I too appreciated the movie’s depiction of the man and his life. I found myself asking if there was anything I believed in strongly enough to give my life for?
Good choice watchfl.