Gandhi

At some point in our lives, most of us were probably told to or taught to fight back, to raise our hands against any wrongdoing.  Most of western civilization encourages this brawn to some extent, but Gandhi once said, “An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”  To never make a physical blow to a threatening opponent may seem ill-advised to some, but the power and bravery that can be shown by non-violence can be astounding.

Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi is a film somewhere between a historical epic and a biopic, but contains the beauty of the human spirit in a way that feels so much more personal than either of those two genres can ever be.  It’s a labor of love, artfully molded perfectly simply to share the story, triumph and spirit of Mahatma Gandhi.

The film shows Gandhi (Ben Kingsley)  from his early adulthood, as an upstanding lawyer in South Africa who begins to protest against the racial discrimination against Indians.  After winning Indians equal rights in South Africa through non-violent protests, he returns to India as a national hero and is sought out to help bring independence to India.  Reluctant at first, reconnects with his fellow Indians, especially the impoverished and forsakes his western possessions and anything that put him at a higher status.  Through a non-violent campaign he leads the Indian people against the British using non-cooperation, but it comes with a price.

What makes Gandhi’s ideas on non-violence most moving and noble is the violence we see inflicted upon these peaceful protesters.  The absolute massacre of women and children under General Dyer (Edward Fox) is heart wrenching and only infuriates us, especially when he gets only a verbal reprimand.  In another scene, men walk up to British guards in wave after wave, knowing that the guards will just beat them.  It’s an act of courage and determination that only shows how brutal the enemy really is.

Some of the film’s best moments are humble, quiet and thoughtful, the exact words I would use to describe Kingsley’s portrayal of Gandhi.  Kingsley was just a newcomer when he took on the momentous role, yet earned the Oscar for lead actor.  There’s a beautiful sort of duality in the personality he uses to portray Gandhi, he can be very soft and stern at the same time.  Even at his weakest moments, during the fasts he holds in order to stop the violence between the Hindus and Muslims, there is a power and strength that comes radiating from the frail little man.  Overall, we see a momentous amount of love and concern for all humanity, and Mahatma Gandhi teaches us a higher way to live without trying to bring anyone else down.  How simple, wonderful and uplifting for all.

I hope most people grew up with a better understanding and knowledge of Gandhi than I did.  Besides picking his image out of history books, guessing that he graced Indian currency and an idea about peaceful protesting and fasting, I could tell you close to nothing about this great man.  Something tells me I’m just one of many.  If you want a good understanding and appreciation of Gandhi’s life, as most intelligent adults who care about humanity should, Gandhi is a must see.

“I want to change their minds, not kill them for weaknesses that we possess.”

A Passage to India

“-I’ve scarcely spoken to an Indian since we landed.
-Lucky you!”

It seems most of the English people in A Passage to India have no problem carrying and displaying this disdainful, colonial attitude, holding themselves and their culture at a much higher esteem than anything in India.  Throughout the film we see polite and proper English hold their noses as Indians pass by, enjoy elegant tea parties with a band full of native Indians playing British tunes as they dine and play polo.  To an idle eye just flipping channels, the Indian setting might be completely lost at times due to the heavy English influence.

However, Miss Adela Quested (Judy Davis) and Mrs. Moore (Peggy Ashcroft) are itching to see the real India, something their English friends don’t understand or recommend.  Adela is young and adventurous and I believe Mrs. Moore doesn’t want her to be stuck in a life of quiet repression so early.  The fact that Adela is engaged to Mrs. Moore’s stick-in-the-mud son, Ronny (Nigel Havers), the British magistrate, gives both women the silent, but mutual, push to find one final chance at adventure.  India seems to be just the place that can be so full of new discoveries and when Mrs. Moore accidentally meets Dr. Aziz (Victor Banerjee) there seems to be potential for great intercultural friendships as well.

Aziz is a smart and kind man, who holds the English in very high regard.  After being invited, at Mrs. Moore’s request, to meet Adela with Professor Godbole (Alec Guinness), and English Professor Fielding (James Fox) from the university, Aziz offers to take the ladies to the caves.  It’s simply an enthusiastic gesture of kindness and hospitality, but Aziz realizes he’s not prepared to take English women out on a picnic.

To adequately provide for these women, as he feels he should on such a journey, Aziz gets all his friends to help in providing refreshments, furniture to set up outside the caves and even a painted elephant to take them to the caves.  It’s one extravagant gesture of kindness after another with Aziz to impress these friendly visitors.  But his reward is less than grateful after Adela accuses him of attempted rape.  How do you think a court in a British colony will treat an Indian man under this accusation?

Leading up to the picnic excursion, we watch Adela discover ruins of a temple, complete with erotic statues.  Surely, the young English maiden is shocked by the unbridled images, perhaps she can’t even comprehend them.  From them, we are to believe that she understands a sense of passion about them, something she realizes she will never find from her rigidly pent up fiancé.  This moment of discovery and the accusation of rape are not directly linked, but come about by the new ideas forming in Adela’s mind.

A Passage to India is the last of David Lean’s sprawling epics.  The images he shows us of India are more beautiful than the colonizing British can appreciate.  There’s a mysticism at times that can permeate through the film, and the echoes within those caves can haunt even the most grounded individual.  See this film to find out if Aziz is innocent or not.  Love it for its natural beauty.

“My dear, life rarely gives us what we want at the moment we consider appropriate. Adventures do occur, but not punctually.”

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer is loosely based of Francis Yeats-Brown’s memoir about British soldiers protecting the boarders of India from rebellious natives.  In the Northwest Frontier, Colonel Stone (Guy Standing) runs a cold and efficient camp, allowing little ceremony or grieving for those lost in battles.  Lieutenant Alan McGregor (Gary Cooper) does not mind speaking his mind to Stone, making him look insubordinate.

When Lieutenant Forsythe (Franchot Tone) and Lieutenant Donald Stone (Richard Cromwell), the Colonel’s son, arrive they are befriended and taken under the wing of the experienced McGregor.  Colonel Stone treats his son coldly for the sake of business and avoiding any favoritism.  This causes the young Stone to act out and he becomes captured by the notorious Mohammed Khan (Douglass Dumbrille).  Colonel Stone decides not to send any men after his son, realizing that it is probably a trap.  This infuriates McGregor, so he and Forsythe disguise themselves as Indian peddlers in an attempt to rescue young Stone.

Honestly, this film is kinda boring.  It feels like the plot just jumps to little misadventures that don’t really matter in the main plot for a while, before it settles far too close to the end.  It was almost fun to see the guys fight over the only pretty girl within miles, but she had no purpose as a character.  Of course there has to be a snake charming gag, but it carries no merit.  Most of this film just feels like filler material that does not really drive the plot or develop these characters.

All day, I’ve been trying to put a finger on why I just did not like this film.  Perhaps it was too cold.  Had I turned the sound off, there would be hardly any way to tell any friendship between the men, much less any affection between the father and son.  Maybe there was just too much military business going on without much explanation as to the relationships between India and England.  Then I opened up this film’s Trivia page on IMDB and saw this right at the top: Reported to be Adolf Hitler’s favorite film.  Whatever he saw in this, I did not.  And I find that very reassuring for my morality and sanity.

“We have ways to make men talk.”