Gandhi (1982)

Release date: 1983-02-25
Country: UK|India
Language: English
Director: Richard Attenborough
Production Co: International Film Investors, National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), Goldcrest Films International
Genre: Drama, Biography, History
Rating: 8.0/10
Length: 3h 11min

Storyline

In 1893, Mohandas K. Gandhi is thrown off a South African train for being an Indian and traveling in a first class compartment. Gandhi realizes that the laws are biased against Indians and decides to start a non-violent protest campaign for the rights of all Indians in South Africa. After numerous arrests and the unwanted attention of the world, the government finally relents by recognizing rights for Indians, though not for the native blacks of South Africa. After this victory, Gandhi is invited back to India, where he is now considered something of a national hero. He is urged to take up the fight for India's independence from the British Empire. Gandhi agrees, and mounts a non-violent non-cooperation campaign of unprecedented scale, coordinating millions of Indians nationwide. There are some setbacks, such as violence against the protesters and Gandhi's occasional imprisonment. Nevertheless, the campaign generates great attention, and Britain faces intense public pressure. Too weak...

Plot Keywords

india, independence, hindu, peace, world war two, brutality, year 1948, machine gun, main character dies, mob, pacifism, muslim, pakistan, female photographer, arrest, british empire, surname as title, violence, south africa, protest

Short Review

Although Gandhi may lack the depth of a more academic approach, it is an old-fashioned, inspirational ode to a man who dared to challenge military power with self-restraint and political cunning.