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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

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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

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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

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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.