Capote (Dir. Bennett Miller) (2005): In 1959 Truman Capote a popular writer for The New Yorker learns about the horrific and senseless murder of a family of four in Halcomb Kansas. Inspired by the story material Capote and his partner Harper Lee travel to the town to research for an article. However as Capote digs deeper into the story he is inspired to expand the project into what would be his greatest work 'In Cold Blood'. To that end he arranges extensive interviews with the prisoners especially with Perry Smith a quiet and articulate man with a troubled... history. As he works on his book Capote feels some compassion for Perry which in part prompts him to help the prisoners to some degree. However that feeling deeply conflicts with his need for closure for the book which only an execution can provide. The conflict and mixed motives for both interviewer and subject make for a troubling experience that would produce a literary account that redefined modern non-fiction.... All The Kings Men (Dir. Steven Zaillian) (2006): Absolute power corrupts absolutely in writer-director Steven Zaillian's (Schindler's List) adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's classic novel ""All the King's Men"" featuring an all-star cast led by Sean Penn Jude Law Kate Winslet Patricia Clarkson James Gandolfini Mark Ruffalo Anthony Hopkins. All the King's Men charts the spectacular rise and fall of a charismatic Southern politician ""Boss"" Willie Stark (Penn). Law co-stars as Jack Burden the once idealistic now embittered ex-reporter who unwittingly fuels Stark's corrupt political ambitions. Gandhi (Dir. Richard Attenborough) (1982): In South Africa a young Indian lawyer is booted off a train for refusing to ride second-class. Upon his return to his native India and fed up with the unjust political system he joins the Indian Congress Party which encourages social change through passive resistance. When his ""subversive"" activities land him in jail masses of low-skilled workers strike to support his non-violent yet revolutionary position. Back in India Gandhi renounces the Western way of life and struggles to organize Indian labor against British colonialism. A strike costs many British soldiers their lives so the crown responds by slaughtering 1 500 Indians. Enraged the ascetic spiritual leader continues to preach pacifism until he has lead India out from under the tyranny of British imperialism. [show more]
GHANDI
An epic and well filmed picture and, although it is about Gandhi, a little less of Gandhi and a little more historical context would have been better.
It falls into the usual 'eye on the American market' trap where all the British are nasty people and everyone else is lovely, with the usual pointless angelic American reporter hanging around.
You cannot deny the visual spectacle of the film or the excellent performance of Ben Kingsley, but he does get a little tedious after a while.
History, American style, is another problem with the film. General Smuts was, in fact, a decent and honourable man who was against Apartheid (wishing to abolish all forms of segregation) and also wished to redefine Britain's colonies into the British Commonwealth, well before the Commonwealth was actually established. Although the early part of the film suggests that South Africa (the Union of South Africa - 1910) was directly ruled by the nasty British, it was, in fact, a self governing Dominion, similar to Canada and Australia (except it was Unitary rather than Federal), gaining full independence as a republic in 1961.
The film minimises the fact that Gandhi was welcomed to London to study law and, on qualifying, was called to the British Bar and enrolled in the High Court (1891). It was his free choice to leave London to return to India to practice law.
As with any history, if you are selective in what you record (or put on film) you can easily change the perceived reality of events and it is notable that John Briley did not win a British award (BAFTA) for his screenplay, although he did win the equivalent American Oscar.
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