oe oo

TT ocr a st

  

ENTERTAINMENT

  

 

by Vic Cromarty

Three hours is usually a
long time to spend in a theatre
watching a movie, but in the
case of ‘Gandhi’, three hours
was hardly long enough.

The director of Gardhi,
Richard Attenborough, must
have realized this himselt. He

begins this modern epic with a
quotation which says that it is
impossible to give each year of
a man’s life proper weight in a
single movie.

Especially if this man is
Muhandes K. Gandhi, an atto-
rney trained in England, and
later a spiritual leader to a

HE OTHER PRESS

 

nation and a world.

The audience is introduced to
The Mahatma, as he is called,
just before his death({by an
assasin’s bullet. ‘‘Oh God’’,
he says quietly, as his frail
body expires.

‘Who is this man being shot?
Why do we see thousands of

Player's Extra Light.

Enjoy the taste of Player's in an extra light cigarette.

SSS SOE OORT TE @eereer

 

people mourning him?

If you are not familiar with
Gandhi’s life, or have never
heard of him before this movie
you find out.

Perhaps it would be more
honest to say that you find out
who Ben Kingsley and
Richard Attenborough think

f

 

_ Warning: Health and Welfare Canada advises that danger to health increases with amount smoked — avoid inhaling.

FEBRUARY 16, 1983

Ganghi was. This is true of
movie, the actor and the direc-

tor are invariably the
ones who, within the
contraints of the writer’s

requirements, are directly res-

ponsible for the character we
see on the screen.

In the case of historical fig-
,ures though, there are cer-
tain rules that have to be
followed. First you should try
and show why history record-
ed them. Second, you should
try to reveal some of the influ-
ences that shaped the person
they were to Rohe Third,
you should show them as
human beings with weak-
nesses and faults like the rest
of us. And finally, you should
try to combine all of these
elements into a cohesive
whole. Sometimes it works,
sometimes it doesn’t. Come-
back, with Micheal Landon,
was an example of a dysmal

ilure.
faoure. Gandhi isn’t perfect,
throughout it’s long story it
usually works. The inconsis-
tancy that occasionally crop-
ped up in the viewers mind is
the less than realistic view of
the excrutiating poverty that
envelopes so much of India.
An occasional throw away
shot of some poor person look-
ing hungry ane hopeless
makes life among the have-
nots in India look more homo-
genized than horrible.

This point is a petty one
though. There is more than
enough to keep us stimulated
and engrossed in the film. Ben
Kingsley’s performance as
The Mahatma is a tour de
force of character portrayal.
From Gandhi's early days as
an attorney in South Africa
and his first responses to
injustice, to his state of near
godhood in the post - British
Indian nation, we follow
Kingsley’s near flawless per-
formance.

It is no easy feat to perform,
but with the help ee tight,
well acted supporting cast,
particularly the Fellow playing
Nehru, we are left with the
impression the man we are
seeing is indeed Gandhi.

One note of warning. If you
read the marquees, you'll
notice the prominent position
of several well known
performers.

Although Martin Sheen,
Candice Bergen et al are
actually in the movie, they
play mainly throw away roles.
Is this another rave review?
Yes. Go see Gandhi. For $5.50
at the Vogue on Granville, you
will not only get more movie to
the dollar, you will also get a
better movie. Try to get there
early if you go on the weekend
Vancouverites seem to have
caught on to just how worth-
while this film really is.