May 06, 2002 10:39 AM
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(Updated May 06, 2002 12:50 PM)
The year 1836. An Englishman named John Patterson is posted as site-engineer and dispatched to Africa, where the ambitious project of the British- The East African Railway is being constructed. Workers from all the British Colonies have gathered at Tsavo, to earn some money. The British are confident of seeing the job through. However, they have not yet seen the biggest danger that Africa poses! The Wild Life!
And this wild danger comes in the form of The Ghost and the Darkness.
The Plot
The film starts with a statement. The statement ends with the words- We would like to tell you that however unbelievable and impossible the events in the film may seem to you, they actually came to pass in 1836.
(Note: The words are mine, but the statement roughly means what I am trying to say!)
The screen unfolds with a simple engineer Patterson(Val Kilmer). He is posted in the wilds of Africa, and has to leave his pregnant wife and report to duty. He is in-charge of the East African Railway project. But work is brought to a grinding halt when it strikes- The Ghost and the Darkness!
What is the ghost and the darkness?
Well, in common English, we call it a lion.
Then why not call it a lion?
Quite simply, because it's not a simple lion!
This lion does not have the normal leonine qualities. It kills everyday, instead of every alternate day like other lions. As the film unfolds, the viewer comes to know that the ghost and the darkness are actually two lions. A pair! A dangerous pair!
As Patterson prepares to meet this unforeseen challenge, workers around him daily fall prey to these man-eating wildcats. Completely lost, Patterson is gratified when help comes in the form of a native clan that kills lions. The leader of the clan is an American named Remington(Michael Douglas).
The line is drawn. It's the pair of an engineer(Patterson) and a game hunter(Remington) versus the pair of the two man-eating lions, the Ghost and the Darkness. It is up to Remington and Patterson to ensure that peace is restored to Tsavo.
Incidentally, Tsavo in the African language Swahili means a place of slaughter.
How does Patterson deal with the situation? Can he restore the faith of his innocent workers? How does a mortal like him fight the danger that the natives believe to be invincible. The beasts they call Shaitani.....or The Devils of the night....or quite simply....The Ghost and the Darkness!
Some Memorable Scenes
Etched in my memory is the scene where they first discover that there are two lions. They see the lion snatch away the strongest African worker from the camp, and follow him with their guns. As they close in on the lion, who is happily devouring his prize, the second lion emerges from nowhere. One of the many high points of the movie.
Another scene that gets you on the edge of your seat is when Patterson's wife Helena(Emily Mortimer) comes to visit him. As they wave at each other, Patterson to his horror, sees the tail of the ghost and the darkness.
The scene where the wildcat pounces on the unsuspecting Helena and her newborn is something that one can never forget.
One more scene is when Patterson and Remington await the lion in Dr.Hawthorne's dispensary. It's really nerve-chilling!
The Performances
Val Kilmer as Patterson seems convincing as the engineer who is forced to pick up the gun to combat the lions.
Michael Douglas looks suave but fails to make a mark.
The supporting cast like Bernard Hill as Dr.Hawthorne, Tom Wilkinson as Beaumont and our very own Om Puri as Abdullah give able support.
The direction by Stephen Hopkins is superb.
Produced by Gale Anne Hurd, the one thing worth a big applause is the photography by Vilmos Zsigmond and Gabriel Beristain.
In Conclusion
Well.....what can I say? As a kid, I used to marvel when a certain bollywood hero would bare-handedly kill a lion or a tiger. Now all I can say is:
If Bollywood directors seriously feel that it is that easy.....then they just have no idea whatsoever about the power of the King!
