OK, let’s get something out of the way first: the writings of Rudyard Kipling are a bit problematic today, what with his “white man’s burden” sort of philosophy and the idea that the British Empire was bringing civilization to certain parts of the world that already had civilization, but it just wasn’t what the British thought of as “civilization”. The Man Who Would Be King is based on Kipling’s work, Kipling even appears as a character in the movie, and the film’s depiction of Afghanistan and the people there are no doubt very wrong. However, I am not an expert on Afghan culture. I only know this movie has, as part of its plot, the idea that some Afghans would believe a white man was somehow a god that needed to be worshiped. As is my habit, I will be judging a movie this old based on the performances, script, and direction, and not based on 2021 ideas on how to depict the people of other cultures.
I say that knowing full well this movie came out during my own lifetime, even if I was still in diapers when it was in theaters.
Writer Rudyard Kipling (Christopher Plummer) has a surprise when he encounters acquaintance Peachy Carnehan (Michael Caine), a former sergeant in Her Majesty’s armed forces. He has a tale to tell involving himself and missing comrade Daniel Dravot (Sean Connery) . The story starts around the time the two former soldiers met Kipling before the pair, budding con artists that they are, prepare to head out of British-controlled India into Afghanistan. The plan is to go somewhere unconquered by Europeans since Alexander the Great with some weapons and offer their services to the first ruler that they can find. The plan works a little too well when an arrow shot at Dravot hits his leather bandoleer during a battle. As he is unharmed, the superstitious locals assume Dravot is some kind of god and make him a king with Carnehan as his servant. This seems like a good scheme to the quick-thinking pair, but it’s only a matter of time before things go bad, particularly when Dravot sets his sights on marrying the local beauty Roxanne (Shakira Caine, Michael Caine’s wife even today). Has power gone to Dravot’s head?
OK, as mentioned, this is not a particularly accurate depiction of the Afghans, assuming they would somehow assume a white man was a god of some sort and start to worship him. It does lead to a fairly obvious way of showing Dravot’s mortality, but it is there, and considering Caine and Connery don brownface to sneak into Afghanistan in the first place, this movie is probably going to be problematic for a lot of viewers. I acknowledge that and can readily see why a lot of people could have problems with the film.
That said, Connery and Caine actually have some great comedic chemistry together. Their initial appearance as a pair of con men causing trouble for casual friend Kipling as well as the British government in India in general is a bit of fun, as is their various tricks and scams along the way. As a fish-out-of-water comedy, there’s some merit to the movie. That the two seemed to fall backwards into Dravot’s divine status and just rolling with it fits the characters we met in the beginning of the movie. They are nothing if not good at improvising on the spot. Director John Huston knows how to put a movie together, an old pro by this point in his career, and Caine and Connery just seem to be having fun doing this sort of stuff.
The net result is, despite my feeling that this is not an accurate representation of the people of that region, I had a lot of fun watching this. The breezy camaraderie between Caine and Connery is, if nothing else, rather infectious. If anything, the movie’s conclusion points out that these two guys were not as in control of the situation as they thought they were, and that they probably should have quit while they were ahead. It somewhat reminded me of one of an Indiana Jones movie, only with a much darker ending. As such, I would recommend it if the movie’s cultural problems are not likely to bother the viewer.
Grade: A
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