Seeing the trailer, I had a feeling that this would not be the greatest film. The barrage of "based on verified facts" in all of the advertising and at the start of the film tells me that there will be certain liberties taken with the film, especially considering you could say "Gandhi being assassinated" is a fact, and could technically write any script around that film and say it is "based on verified facts". The need to constantly remind the viewer actually makes you trust the film less, and sits it very firmly in the conspiracy theory side, rather than biographical.
Unsure what to make of itself, the film has been released under several names; Solar Eclipse: Depth of Darkness and Gandhi The Conspiracy, but in New Zealand, it is playing in theatres under the name The Gandhi Murder. It is a mish-mash of different character lines that become muddled and convoluted. Whether it be the use of non-Indians to portray the Indians wanting to assassinate Gandhi, the creation of fictional characters to make it feel like a more concerted effort, or insertion of completely unnecessary romantic interests, the film tries to distract you from the mess that is the main.
The film follows the premise where Hindu people are not pleased with Gandhi's tolerance of the Muslims, and a plot to kill Gandhi is discovered by Bombay police, who must decide whether to stop it or let it happen to "allow the unification of India". An interesting concept and many parallels to the American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln are put forward as a means of justification. In fact, the fictional character played by American Stephen Lang is so convinced of this that it is his characters entire role; to lecture American history and share his belief in the necessary nature of Abraham Lincoln's death.
Despite what could have been an interesting premise, the pacing of the film is horrendous. The constant switching between characters non-essential arcs and clumsy dialogue slows the film down in the middle, and I watched many viewers leave the theatre before the film was at the halfway point. It failed to create any tension, and neither side of the cast felt overly genuine in their performances.
While the story of why Gandhi was murdered is a deep, and intriguing story, this film does not delve deep into the matter. It looks at the formation of Pakistan, and the presence of Hindi refugees, and that is all that is ever really referenced. Attempts to show the "conflict" between Hindus and Muslims at the start of the film is unfortunately outright laughable due to some very poor special effects, fight scenes, and overall direction. It feels like the film has been written by someone that feels strongly about this on a personal, emotional level, and holds a clear bias in the matter, not willing to show all the facts on both sides in case it ruins their own argument.
Don't even get started on the dubbing and audio syncing of the film. Absolutely atrocious, it takes away from any strength in character that Jesus Sans portrayal of Gandhi may have had.
In the end, I'm a little confused at what this film was trying to achieve. With the casting of Americans and British actors as those responsible for the attempts on Gandhi's life, it seems that the makers of the film are trying to blame outside influence on the violence that was perpetrated.
In their defence, they care enough to point out at the end all of the liberties that were taken with the script, but much like the "based on verified facts", every liberty taken reduces the trustworthiness of a film that already feels dubious in nature. A fitting release to mark the 71st anniversary of Gandhi's assassination, I think not.