khartoum

People today don’t study history as closely as they should. I have been told hundreds of times since
childhood that to know history is to understand yourself and the world you live in. There is much truth in
this. That said, I have been reexamining films about the 19th century and the spread of the British
Empire across Africa and the Middle East. I do understand that all films take liberties, that a movie
cannot be taken at face value, but I do look at the overall stories on which the films are based and it
gives me a starting point at the library to further research the topic. Of all the films that have inspired
me to further research a historical period, “Khartoum” is one of the most eye-opening.

This movie is an account of the siege of the Sudanese city of Khartoum, when British forces led by
General Charles Gordon moved into the Sudan to suppress The Mahdi, the leader of an Islamic army of
rebels who believed that he was the second messiah after Mohammed, destined to lead the Islamic
world to victory against every nation on Earth.

The film takes many cues from “Lawrence of Arabia” in attempting to depict the vastness of the African
desert, but most of the movie is shot in studios, cramping the scope considerably in places. The
technical flaws do hurt the film somewhat as they compromise the aesthetic in places, but the movie
transcends its own shortcomings due to the strength of the story.

A real event in history, the directors tackle this epic struggle as a clash between two egos from
opposing worlds. General Gordon, played strongly by Charlton Heston, is a devoutly Christian warrior
who believes that his motives are always just and in the vein of Jesus Christ. The Mahdi, played
effectively but creepily by Laurence Olivier is an almost inhuman fanatic, ruled by twisted religious
doctrines.

When the two finally meet in a kind of diplomatic stand off, Gordon is forced to realize that he is dealing
not with simply a man, but a man who is convinced he is a living god, a man who sees himself and all of
his actions, no matter how heinous, as divine commands. Psychologically complicating matters, the
Mahdi accuses Gordon of being equally bent towards divine egotism, which shakes Gordon to the core.
Deep down, Gordon knows he is nothing like the Mahdi, but the zealot tells Gordon that killing convicted
criminals and killing innocent children is one and the same. The Mahdi is a man with dark intentions
who will not stop for any human reason and Gordon knows this.

Besieged and without any relief, Gordon and the city of Khartoum must hold out against the Mahdi’s
forces indefinitely. “Khartoum” is a story fraught with extreme tension, tough decisions and the corrupt
politics of diplomacy. Although it contains a good amount of action, the movie is not about battles.
Instead, it shows the maneuvering that takes place in dark rooms while men like Gordon are used as
pawns in political games. More telling than that, “Khartoum” explores a man who is torn down from a
high place and forced to accept that he is a man with human frailties, a man who thought he was devout
until encountering a man so driven by religion it has corrupted him.

Gordon is a man disillusioned, yet ironically in the midst of his disillusionment he becomes closer to the
tenants of his Christian religion than he ever did before encountering the Mahdi. Although slow in
places, “Khartoum” reveals to the viewer some of the roots of religious terrorism and shows how it is
possible for men to act in such questionable ways in the name of a god.