Toronto Screen Shots

Yesterday, I watched not one, but two sweeping historical biopics. In the afternoon, I watched Patton (1970), starring George C. Scott. In the evening, it was Gandhi (1982), with Ben Kingsley. Two men, both warriors of a sort, but completely different in their aims and methods. Patton was like a Roman general, and since he believed in reincarnation, might have thought he was one. Gandhi was a sort of Christ-like figure, absorbing suffering and injustice and turning it to good. Both were great performances, but I was disappointed that in neither film did I ever feel I got inside the subject’s head, to see their motivations, their struggles, their humanity. You’d think that three hours would be enough time to tell a story that had more than just events in it. I guess this is why we still have books!