Audiences love the new film Slumdog Millionaire because (A) Shopaholic liked it (B) ..
Written: Jan 11 '09 (Updated Jan 11 '09)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Bang For The Buck |
 |
|
|
Pros: Story, Acting, Direction and Cinematography.
Cons: Some very strong scenes may not be for all viewers.
The Bottom Line: Bollywood brings Hollywood a tale of triumph over adversity from the slums of Mumbai to Slumdog Millionaire
|
|
|
| shopaholic_man's Full Review: Slumdog Millionaire |
(B) Critics liked it (C) It's an excellent film or (D) it's a refreshing change of pace. You have 1,000 rupees. Answer this correctly and you will have 2,000 rupees. Your answer please!
My son (age 13) and I went to the movies with one of my friends last night. We dressed in warm clothes, left our heated house complete with electricty, running water and cable television in our suburban neighborhood, got in our car, plugged an iPod into the stereo and stopped for burgers on the way to the theater along paved roads and highways. All these things, we take for granted. I didn't think much of any of these facts until the drive home. Despite the snowy night, Gran Turino was completely sold out, but Slumdog Millionaire was also playing at our local multiplex. (apparently we weren't the only ones insane enough to go to the movies during a snowstorm). I had heard of the film, but had no idea what it was about, but we decided to see it.
Is Slumdog Millionaire a film about
a) a poor child from the slums of Mumbai b) a love story c) a story of two brothers who go in different directions in life or d) a tale of triumph over adversity?
Not since City of God have I seen a film which so clearly reminded me of all the things I take for granted. The film opens with a scene that all America is familiar with, the set of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Amiable host Regis Philbin has been replaced with his Hindu counterpart and the questions are based on Indian popular culture and history. A young 18 year old contestant, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is in the hot seat from the slums of Mumbai (formerly named Bombay, the capital city of India). The host of the show, Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor) is rude to him, not friendly and supportive like Regis. Howver Jamal is on a roll and answering the questions correctly, well on his way to winning twenty million rupees.
The next scene was like a hard slap in the face. Jamal is being brutally interrogated by Indian police who suspect him of cheating on the show. How could a "slumdog" know the answers? He is brutally beaten and tortured to get a confession. How could he have gotten all those questions right, what could a slum dog possibly know? A nearly broken voice from Jamal speaks, The answers.
What followed was one of the best movies I have seen this year, the story of two brothers born into poverty in the slums of India and what they did to survive. Each question from the show is reviewed and Jamal is questioned as to how he would know such answers. Flash backs show Jamal's life on the streets with his brother Salim and the struggles that they endured just to survive and how Jamal came to learn the hard way the answers to each of the questions on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. (Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail plays child Salim and Ayush Mahesh Khedekar plays child Jamal; Tanay Chheda plays Jamal as a young teen, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala plays Salim as a young teen and Madhur Mittal plays Salim as a young adult)
I will warn you right up front, many of the scenes are not pleasant and will shock your senses. The violence inflicted on the poor, although not shown in graphic detail, is detailed enough to elicit genuine feelings of sickness and disgust. However, scenes of man's inhumanity to man are well balanced with scenes of genuine humor and we, along with the audience, all laughed out loud at some of the ways young Jamal and his brother Salim survived in the streets of India.
One such scene, the brothers have made their way to India's most famous site, the Taj Mahal. Young Jamal sees European tourists looking for a tour, and offers them to give them an immediate tour of the impressive monument (for a few euros of course) His tour is a blend of what he has overheard from the actual tour guide and his own quick wit. He explains to the tourists about how the Taj Mahal was build by the emperor as a monument to his favorite wife, (who died in child birth).
How did his wife die?
She was killed in a traffic accident sir.
Oh I had thought she died in child birth?
Yes, yes, she was on her way to the hospital to deliver when she was killed in the traffic accident, it was very tragic.
Slumdog Millionaire also keeps us riveted with a tale told from Hollywood to Bollywood; love and circumstances. When Samir and Jamal are hiding from the rain, they meet a young street urchin girl named Latika (Rubiana Ali played her as a child, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar as a young teen, and Frieda Pinto played Latika as a young adult). Even though they are only children, for Jamal and Latika, it is love at first sight. Circumstances take Latika away, and Jamal spends much of his teen years trying to find her again, only to have her taken away again. I won't tell you the ending, but it does follow Bollywood and Hollywood rules.
Was the movie Slumdog Millionaire excellent because of
a) the Directing, b) the acting c) the cinematography or d) the soundtrack?
Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) does as fine a job on Slumdog Millionaire as Fernando Meirelles did with the Brazilian film City of God. He both shows a story of abject poverty of those on the bottom of of the social scale, and the triumph of human will despite the odds. The vision of India's slums was as disturbing as that of Rio de Janiero's slums in City of God, but so was the triumph of the protagonist. Slumdog Millionaire has proved itself more accessible to American audiences as well, perhaps in large part because most of the film is in English, and only occasionally are subtitles used. (Americans for the most part don't seem to like to have to read subtitles. I have found that my friend and I are in the minority on this issue). The acting in this film was superb as well from the children portraying Jamal, Samir and Latika as children, young teenagers and young adults. All Indian actors are in the film, and it was filmed on locations throughout India, including horrible slums built atop giant refuse fields to the almost magical Taj Mahal. Cinematography was done by Anthony Dod Mantle, and his realistic capture of India on film kept my eyes rivited to the screen, even though at times I wanted to turn away. I also have to say that I enjoyed the Indian music composed by A.R. Raham. I have never really listened to Indian music (except for the scant few Bollywood films I have seen), but it added just the right touch to the films many moving scenes.
Stay for the credits, if you have ever watched a Bollywood film, you know that no Indian film is complete without a big well choreographed dance number. Slumdog Millionaire delivers and provides such a dance at the very end, complete with Indian singing and dancing. Judging by the entire audience staying put for the entire credits and song and dance number, it seems that Bollywood has broken through to Hollywood.
Was the film rated R because
a) scenes of violence b) adult themes c) the ratings commission doesn't want children or young teens to see how those much less fortunate than they have to live or d) a combination of the above?
Yes the film is rated R, and some scenes are brutal. The abject poverty of the slums may offend or frighten some. However my 13 year old son both loved and understood this film and I think it is an important film to see, despite some of the harsh realities depicted therein.
Am I going to rate Slumdog Millionaire
a) One star b) Not Helpful c) Five Stars d) Three Stars?
At films end, my son turned to me and said, Dad are you going to review Slumdog Millionaire? I hope you are going to give it five stars. My answer to my son? YES and YES.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.