Slumdog Millionaire is an inspirational journey
February 22nd, 2009 at 11:55 pm by Laff at the Movies under Entertainment
Now the Oscar Winner for 2008 Best Picture !!!
Originally published 11/17/08:
“Slumdog Millionaire” is an inspirational journey of rags to riches, the story of a boy who works his way up from nothing to something, and carries the audience through to the end. Its not the sugarcoated musical rags-to-riches of “Annie” – this is the eye-opening and uplifting tale of a young man risking everything for his true love.
“Slumdog Millionaire” won the “People’s Choice Award” at the Toronto Film Festival… and like other little movies before it, this train is starting to pick up momentum with critics across the country… including me.
“Slumdog Millionaire”
(2008) (rated: R for some violence, disturbing images and language) (2 hrs)
Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla, Irfan Khan
Director: Danny Boyle
Genre: Drama/Mystery/Romance
The Plot: The story of how impoverished Indian teen Jamal Malik became a contestant on the Hindi version of “Who Wants to be A Millionaire?” — an endeavor made without prize money in mind, rather, an effort to prove his love for his friend Latika, who is an ardent fan of the show.
Every once in awhile a movie comes along and just grabs you… its realism grabs you, its story inspires you, its little moments make you smile, and in the end root for the main character – this is one of those movies.
I have to be honest, when I heard some of those national critics saying good things about it, I had my doubts, but I also tried to avoid their reviews (as I’ve tried to do with every movie until I see it). And in the end, Slumdog Millionaire delivers a great story.
Slumdog Millionaire has a love story, but its not a romance. Its about the relationship between two brothers and their female friend. Its also set in India: a different country and culture than most of us our used to seeing - but its themes are easy to translate to our own lives.
(contains minor spoilers):
Ayush Mahesh Khedekar as young Jamal in "Slumdog Millionaire"
The audience is dropped into the slums of India, with people living in poor, unhealthy conditions – and as this theme is weaved in, it gives the audience an overwhelming sense to root for the main characters: two young brothers Jamal and Salim, who are constantly on the run from from one life-preserving scheme to another as cool, upbeat soundtrack weaves its way through the story, enhancing the great cinematography and editing.
But when an older Jamal (Dev Patel) makes it on as a contestant for the Indian version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire”, the police are called in to investigate how an uneducated slum kid could know so many answers.
Dev Patel and Anil Kapoor in "Slumdog Millionaire" courtesy Fox Searchlight
The movie uses the flashback, something we’ve all seen before – but in a way that is somewhat fresh: Jamal flashes back to different chapters of his life, showing us how he might have known the answers to each question on the game show.
When he’s first interrogated by the Inspector and his officer, we start to get the feeling that he might have cheated, but as the movie goes on, we and police officers begin to believe the opposite.
This is another movie with great work by young actors – a good third of this movie hinges on the acting of the young kids playing Jamal, Salim, and Latika.
Remember when “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire” was the event on tv? When millions would tune in to watch, or you and your co-workers would huddle around the tv to watch, then call in to try to be a contestant? This movie harnesses that feeling: but its not just the studio audience and people all over India rooting for Jamal as he moves up the prize winnings, becoming a national obessession – the audience is also pulled in.
The host, Anil Kapoor is very good as the Indian version of Regis, but he’s not as simple to figure out as he first seems. And his line saying “from rags to riches” couldn’t be more perfect on multiple levels.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Slumdog Millionaire HAS TO BE considered for Academy Awards, the movie is inspiring with an underdog you can’t help but root for! Its almost perfect: I give it 9.5 out of 10.
So what did you think? Please post a comment!
“Slumdog Millionaire” poster courtesy Fox Searchlight
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Aaron Lafferty covers the film industry. Favorite movies include Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Matrix, Clear and Present Danger, Tombstone, Rounders, Enemy of the State, Rear W...
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I agree with your rating. This was a beautiful film. Well shot, directed, acted, etc. It almost felt like a documentary at times.
We were so inspired by the film that we made a spoof of the film called Redneck Slumdog Millionaire.
You can see the trailer at the following link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmdH3SnBKXc
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