“All throughout history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for awhile they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fail. Always.”

Of all the quotes from Gandhi, and from the movie, this is the one that I liked the best. It’s so true. I would say this doesn’t just apply to someone living in an oppressive regime, but that in moments of despair in all of our lives, we feel as if it’ll go on forever when it’s only temporary. I am glad I got to see Gandhi as I tried to watch it as a child, but it bored me. Plus it was free too since I got it from the library. The only bummer is that it’s very long of a movie. (Have you noticed that the really long movies always get an Oscar?) I thought the director, Richard Attenborough, did a very good job. What I thought was ironic, and this may just be a rumor, but I heard that the British actors in this movie were paid more than the Indian actors for a movie that was speaking out against British supremacy over Indians.


What I like most is the portrayal of Gandhi by Ben Kingsley. There’s also some other notable actors here that I saw play the Hindu villains on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom when Indiana Jones got to India. Guess this was their debut. Kingsley did a good job as Gandhi in 1893 when he encounters his first form of bigotry on a train car in South Africa (he looks about 30+ there) until he is gunned down by a Hindu Nationalist in 1948 at the age of 80. I learned a great deal of history and philosophy about a man (who trained to be a lawyer in England I might add) who single-handedly revolted against the British Empire while advocating peace and persuasion as his weapons. There’s one part on the movie where an Indian wants to kill all the white British in India and that he’s got lots of Indians on his side, to which Gandhi said something like, “That’ll only provoke their anger and hatred against you. Show them where they are wrong.”

Like I said, you learn a great deal of history watching this, which has always been a hobby of mine. I saw the hypocrisy in how the British wanted Gandhi’s support during WWI, but then they wouldn’t listen to his pleas of giving the Indians the same rights as the Brits who lived there. I might be wrong on my history, but I think after Gandhi died that’s when India has had the current Muslim-Hindu clash, or maybe it was suppressed when it was ran by the British? I don’t know, I’d have to read my history. It seemed as though more when the Brits were losing control over the government there that the people were worried which religious group would control the government.

I can also see how Gandhi was a lot like Socrates, Jesus and Martin Luther King (who got his ideas of civil disobedience from Gandhi). He believed that even if there was an unjust law and we want to break it, do so, but be willing to proudly and civilly accept the consequences. This part was very evident when he was being assaulted by the British police there when he refused to carry a passport since he was non-white; something that the White Brits were not required to do. Eventually, more people came to his side in the long run when he took his punishment without a fuss. I also liked Gandhi’s views on religions, he kept saying he was a Christian, a Hindu, a Muslim, a Jew and all the others.

I’d say the only problem with Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence is that sometimes you have to use force to get what you want or to stop people from bullying you. If you don’t fight back your enemies will see that as a sign of weakness and will continue to take advantage of you. For your peace, someone had to get their hands bloody. Maybe there’s a middle ground between demanding civil rights with violence as opposed to using peace. Sounds like a good write-off idea! -)

In any event, I would say that Gandhi is a great movie and a timeless classic. Very rarely throughout history does there come a person who encounters injustice (successfully) with peace and love.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older