Millionaire, Bollywood Style

Three weeks ago I wrote about my anticipation and the buzz surrounding the newly released Slumdog Millionaire. Through a series of flashbacks evoked by a tortuous police interrogation surrounding his alleged cheating, the film recounts the story of Jamal, a Muslim orphan hustling for a living in the slums of Bombay, and how he came to be just one question away from the 20 million rupee prize on India's most popular game show. To say that all of my expectations were met would be an understatement. Director Danny Boyle weaves an intricate narrative that ties together the most poignant scenes from Jamal's life and plays out as a type of modern day fairy tale about the power of true love and determination. That said, however, do not confuse this movie for a candy-sweet Disneyesque fable. Rather, interspersed among the film's most touching moments are glimpses of man at his worst and most desperate. These roles in the film are assumed by Jamal's older brother Salim, a tenacious, though arrogant and corrupt teen that robs Jamal of one prize after the next, a deranged orphanage leader, and even Millionaire's host, an envious former-slumdog loathe to see another pauper rise to fame and fortune himself. Boyle puts the viewer on the edge of his seat at multiple points throughout the movie as the sheer dramatic force of the movie draws you in and makes you cringe at the disaster possibly awaiting the protagonists.

The film is also stunningly shot, with beautiful panormas of the emerging Bombay skyline, the Taj Mahal, and the Indian countryside shot with gorgeously filtered cinematography to highlight the full pallete of India's diversity. The acting is all top notch, I even read that Boyle bestowed co-director status to his Indian casting director for her invaluable contribution to the film. In addition, actress Freida Pinto plays Jamal's love interest Latika with an effortless grace, not to mention beauty. Current events aside, the film plays out as a symbol of the promise that Bombay holds for all its people, slumdogs included, not to mention as a postcard trying to draw foreigners to the country. Slumdog is certainly the best film I've seen in theaters (excluding Dark Knight...a very different beast indeed) for a few years at the least. See Slumdog for yourself and see for yourself how Jamal won the millions, if he cheated, if fate can bring true lovers together, and to see what a quality film looks like. Expect best director and film nods at the least, not to mention casting.