Gandhi

Only once have I experienced thunderous applause in the cinema after a film. That film was Gandhi. Tedious at times, dramatic and emotionally tense at others, but most importantly, Ben Kingsley as Gandhi gives one of the most amazing performances in the history of cinema. The Oscar for lead actor for Kingsley was never more deserved. (01.06.2002)

A truly gigantic film, which, however, has two major drawbacks. The first one, I boldly consider a relatively objective criticism, the film is very slow and unfortunately quite often also uninteresting and even boring. For its massive running time, it has very little plot and at times it feels like too little jam on too big a slice of bread. The second problem is purely subjective: the story is perhaps too simple, aimed at the widest possible audience. The character of Gandhi is overwhelmingly one-dimensional and the director-screenwriter approaches it with an annoying lack of criticism. Likewise, the film somewhat disregards political motives and we are constantly hammered with the idea of a good soul, humanity, and the fact that violence begets only more violence. That it was certainly not so easy for the Mahatma (in terms of politics) is a fact that the filmmakers here somehow do not take into account. (16.10.2006)

If a biographical film were supposed to look a certain way, then this would be it. It's a film that narrates the life of an intriguing personality, conveying a certain philosophy through their journey. Moreover, it's shot in a magnificent style, with some scenes being truly breathtaking. Plus there's the incredible Ben Kingsley in the lead role. (08.12.2015)