In 1967, the Russell International War Crimes Tribunal investigated and condemned the Vietnam War. The renowned philosopher Bertrand Russell’s outspoken opposition to World War I is depicted and he is sacked from Cambridge. Separation from his homeland and wife Janaki (Devika Bhise), along with the advent of World War I, further complicate matters for the beleaguered Ramanujan.Īfter a group of WWI soldiers beat Ramanujan, cruelly calling him a “freeloading little blackie,” the overseas Indian’s troubles are compounded by health issues triggered, almost metaphorically, by racism. It’s in the Zeitgeist – people yearn for them.” And like computer pioneer Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch), a closeted gay man in homophobic, WWII-era Britain in 2014’s The Imitation Game and the physically disabled physicist Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) in 2014’s The Theory of Everything, Ramanujan must combat adversity as he struggles to introduce “groundbreaking” mathematical theorems. Even his champions, Hardy and Littlewood (Toby Jones), challenge the prodigy, whose intuitive creative process clashes with the proofs-based logic of Western methodology.Īs Infinitywriter/director Matt Brown pointed out at the press conference, “Lots of films have come out in the last years about science. Ramanujan and his mathematical prowess offend the “master race” sensibility of some of the veddy British Cambridge dons, who refer to him as “Gunga Din” or, worse, a “wog” (a racial slur akin to the N-word). Once introduced to Trinity College, Ramanujan must contend with the racism and elitism of English academia. The Madras-born Ramanujan, who has what he describes as a god-given gift for numbers, has to overcome British colonial officials who dismiss the uneducated Indian, as well as local taboos.
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Patel co-starred in 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, which won eight Oscars, including Best Picture and in 2011’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its 2015 sequel, plus HBO’s 2012-2014 Newsroom series. The Isle of Wight-born Irons struck Oscar gold with 1990’s Reversal of Fortune and has co-starred in many movies since. Hardy (Jeremy Irons), who brought Ramanujan to Cambridge circa 1914. Those two men are Srinivasa Ramanujan (Dev Patel), an untutored Indian mathematician, and academician G.H. Infinity also portrays a deeply moving personal story, which co-star Stephen Fry (who plays Sir Francis Spring) described at a press conference in Zürich’s posh Baur au Lac hotel as an “intellectual, spiritual love affair between two people of different castes.”
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24 is anti-racist, anti-colonial, anti-war, and also depicts the great lefty philosopher Bertrand Russell (Cambridge-born Jeremy Northam) in a well-acted, stylish movie based on a true story made on location in India and England. ZÜRICH, Switzerland – How do I love The Man Who Knew Infinity? Let me count the ways: The feature that kicked off the 11th annual Zürich Film Festival on Sept.