1885, India—ex-sergeants of the British Army Peachy Carnehan and Danny Dravot are in search of adventure (and trouble). The two devise a plan: They’re going to venture into Kafiristan (a region of Afghanistan/Pakistan) and earn the permission of a local leader to train his tribe on how to fight. Through discipline and arms, the plan entails going from tribe to tribe, conquering the region until they can depose the leader they’ve suckered along and become the rulers of the land. They sign their plan in front of Rudyard Kipling and set off for the Khyber Pass. And it works! Too well, in fact. When Dravot takes a bow to the chest and walks away unharmed, the locals begin to suspect that he’s a god. This makes conquering all the easier. Until it isn’t. In an Icarus-like story, Dravot takes to his new deification. He is less and less impressed with riches and quickly attracted to the power of rule. And he’s pretty good at it! That is, until, his humanness shows itself and unravels everything that Danny and Peachy had worked for.
I really enjoyed this flick. It hits this really specific adventure-comedy-character study genre that I particularly enjoy. And Sean Connery and Michael Caine are perfect together, with Caine playing drama and Connery playing comedy when each needs to. It handles the local population with as much tact as you would expect from a Kipling adaptation (paternalistic, racist, etc.), but I suppose that’s relevant for this time and these characters. In fact, the story is kind of an allegory for how the British conquered the world—not for remarkable wit but for sheer difference, technology, and the ability to pit locals against one another.
I can’t remember why I didn’t go a full five stars on this one. It does sort of just end, which is perhaps owed to its source material. I’m going to stick with my gut, but for a film we don’t talk much about, this one’s a terrific classic.