superficial and inaccurate, but still a decent (but somewhat dull) overview of his life

Rating: 5/10 (10 May 2006)

"The Last Emperor", "The English Patient" and "Gandi"--three recent movies that won tons of Oscars but were ultimately pretty boring and unappealing to the common people. You may not appreciate me for saying this, but it is a fact that all three films were not exactly box office draws and the average bloke would rather see most anything other than these LONG films. And, I say long not due to their length, but to their slow and plodding pacing. And, of course, they are rewarded for this by the Oscar. So, in recent years Oscar = Dull or overblown film. While I certainly didn't hate the film like many of my students, I could understand their feeling that the whole thing was a bit too long and slow going.
This film is a pretty decent general overview of the life of Gandhi. However, as a history teacher, I gotta admit that there were a lot of liberties taken with the truth. While the overall message is true, some details are not and many aspects of Gandhi's strange personal life were omitted (such as his attitudes towards parenting, his sleeping habits, etc.--all VERY odd indeed). While I hate to see films that trash good people and focus on the weird, this film nearly elevates this man to godhood--making him seem super-human, not just a great man. After you see the movie to do an internet search or pick up a biography on the man to get a more 3-dimensional view of this extraordinary character.
PS--I know I will be hated for demeaning the name of Gandhi, but I strongly agree with the other posts that preferred or at least recommended the movie UHF because of its parody on GANDHI--"GANDHI II--he's back and he's looking for revenge"! Funny stuff, indeed!