MovieHook Rating... A
It has been said so many times before that movies have been the greatest of the year or the greatest of all time. While this movie may be neither of those, it is a film that everyone should watch in your lifetime. See this movie and you will walk out the theatre with goosebumps, still entangled in Danny Boyle's coming of age, rags to riches story, about a character who has to beat the odds in a way that has never been told on screen before. Slumdog Millionaire is the type of movie that insures a feeling of money well spent, which is hard to find in movies today.
Do you ever feel like you walk into movie already making judgements? On the stars of the movie or plots you can probably yank out of a myriad of movies in your Netflix account. With Slumdog Millionaire this is not problem because the cast in almost undoubtedly unknown in the eyes of an American. It is strictly an Indian cast (at least ancestry wise), and be expecting a few subtitles used in of the film.
Slumdog follows an orphan named Jamal, who we find one question away from a 20 million rupees on the popular Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. But before Jamal can answer his final question, we must realize that there are many unknown factors going on outside of the studio that could still play into his final decision. We must also ask how did he get there, and more importantly how could a mildly educated orphan succeed where doctors and lawyers could not.
Going back to one day prior to the opening scene, we find Jamal being tortured by the police. They are wondering how he cheated on the show, but Jamal has no answer for them. An inspector sits him down in front of a television, and turns on a tape of the Millionaire show that featured Jamal. They proceed to go through each question one by one, and Jamal tells the officer in flashbacks how he stumbled upon each answer throughout his life.
As a kid in slums of Mumbai, Jamal and his older brother Salim are both just looking to cause trouble, as many children do. They skip school only to play on airport runways, and in a comical sense charge people to use outdoor lavatories. But one day as the Indian sun beats down on them, a group of anti-Muslim's riot through the streets, flailing weapons at anyone in their reach. Salim and Jamal flee the scene, and hide in a construction site, but their mother is not as lucky. They are left homeless and motherless without any money or food.
As they duo looks for a place to sleep they run into Latika, an also newly orphaned child. Salim as the older brother emerges as the decider between them, and he does not care for Latika at all it seems. But they stick together looking for scraps of food, until one a day a smiling man takes them away to a singing school for homeless children, now you may be wondering if this is an indian version of Oliver Twist, I assure you it is not. The man notices right from the beginning Salim is a born leader, but it begins to come apparent that Salim is showing qualities of a future villain. He puts the kids on the streets acting as beggars, and gives them fake crutches, and eye patches that make them look terribly sad. But as Salim begins to spend more time with this man, he sees that he would do whatever it takes to make money, even actually cut out a child's eyes. So he grabs Jamal and Latika, and they escape the school, but as they chase down the getaway train, Salim lets go of Latika's hand, and she is left behind. Jamal fights Salim, but he makes him stay on the train, and refuses to let him go back for her.
As the story continues to unfold, and the Millionaire answers are frequently revealed. We begin to see why a kid with no desire to win money is on a show that most people can only dream off. But this Slumdog is not alone in his hunt for the 20 million rupees, cheering in his corner, is the entire city of Mumbai, flocking to televisions waiting to see if this local boys fairy tale will come true.
Slumdog Millionaire does not just show the changes in the life of Jamal, but it follows the destiny of the city of Mumbai. Slumdog gives you a look at the changes in India in the past two decades, along with an intoxicating storyline based off the novel written by Vikas Swarup.
Slumdog is a complete movie, filled to the brim with themes of love, greed, retribution, and honesty. It will leave you questioning your own way of life, and the best part is the whole family can see it. It is fit for all ages, and educational as well, there is no reason why you should not drive to any theatre you can find to see this golden globe and oscar winning masterpiece.
that actually sounds really interesting.
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