Not the recognition it deserves

Rating: 10/10 (15 January 2002)

For some reason, every time they decide to show this movie on a Swedish TV channel, they do so in the middle of the night, when everyone's asleep. I'm getting angry everytime I see that: because this is a great movie that hasn't really got much recognition (maybe it's like this only here in Sweden). You shouldn't have to miss out a movie this good just because you haven't heard of it.
That said, I will concentrate more on the movie. It's based on a short story by Rudyard Kipling, but this is one of the few occurances where I find the film better. It's an amazing story set in India from when it was under British rule. As the main characters we see Sean Connery and Michael Caine, and they do great roles. I'd always known Sean Connery was a great actor, but I hadn't seen Caine's potential until I saw this movie. Their characters' friendship makes this a warming movie, but at moments it's also quite sad. Besides Connery and Caine, it has many memorable characters, like Christopher Plumming as Kipling.
Stan Huston directs, and I think it shows. The environments for example, really are outstanding; the icy mountains, the crowded market and the Pakistan deserts. When I had finished watching I was overwhelmed, it felt like one of the greatest stories ever told, much like the feeling I had after watching Lawrence of Arabia and Dersu Uzala. There's really nothing that goes against this movie, and needless to say I gave it 10/10.