Posted: Sat Feb 14, 2009 11:18 am Post subject: Slumdog Millionaire
A film that has been the subject of much hype and award winning. Much of it justified. Whether or not it merits the epithet of a feelgood movie is another matter. It is, however, an example of how a high-concept movie can be done well, if only a little thought goes into it, as well as some hard work by those involved.
The story is basic - Jamal, a young man from the slums of Mumbai has won 10m Rupees on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, before the show runs out of time and before he can answer his final question. How such a "slumdog" can have answered so many questions arouses suspicion, and he's arrested on a fraud charge, and is subjected to interrogation and torture to determine how he cheated.
But as the police lose patience with him, he's asked to explain how he knows each answer he's given. We see flashbacks from his childhood, his youth and young adulthood, showing a meagre existence on the streets of Mumbai, getting money and food however he can and facing danger from numerous quarters. This is in some respects, the real story of the movie, the sequence of events that has lead our protagonist to graduate from the School of Hard Knocks and be every bit as educated as any Oxbridger. A love interest helps to balance the story very well, one gets the impression that Jamal would willingly give up his winnings purely for the woman he loves.
Dev Patel plays the reluctant hero of the tale, an actor only really known from Skins in the UK. It's a very good performance, and certainly Danny Boyle is an unseen hero of the film, having crafted a movie that's well wroth seeing. _________________ "It's ok to be different, it's good to be different, and we should question ourselves before we judge others." -- Johnny Depp
I'm looking forward to seeing it, although I've heard so many mixed peoples opinions.
But what surprised me was, the older audience didn't seem to get it and the younger audience that would normally have a struggling attention span, didn't mind this nearly three hour long movie and they enjoyed it and have a very positive opinion about it. ?????
I may get to see it this week, so watch this space to see am I an old fart who falls asleep before the end, or do I still have a spark of wonderment left in me LOL. _________________ http://www.withintheshadowofthetree.com/
Carl B Harrison
Well I have to say this lived up to all of my expectations.
Typical overhyped awards winner. Don't get me wrong, it was well put together and it has a story but, at the end of the day, this film dragged and was predictible. It felt like 4 hours and was only about half of that. It is the sort of film that wins awards and suspect it will clean up at the Oscars but, for me, I don't think it is that good. Certainly not my type of film. I've seen it once and that's enough. Frost Nixon is much more interesting for films like that out there.
To rate it, I would give it a generous 1.5 out of five.
Typical overhyped awards winner. Don't get me wrong, it was well put together and it has a story but, at the end of the day, this film
dragged and was predictible.
You're right about the predictability (the clue's in the title, really), but I don't really think the Millionaire game was the point of the film. I think that the idea was to show that education isn't just about fancy schools, having the best teachers, or knowing how to decline a Latin verb. It shows that to be educated, one simply needs a good deal of experience of life, of different types of people and of different ways of living; of having to cope as best one can in a given situation. The millionaire game and how it turns out is simply a device to show how he's learnt this.
This is what part of makes it an interesting film. We have a classic protagonist, but his character takes nothing from the main storyline of the film. His real personal journey is up to the point that he begins the game. _________________ "It's ok to be different, it's good to be different, and we should question ourselves before we judge others." -- Johnny Depp
Typical overhyped awards winner. Don't get me wrong, it was well put together and it has a story but, at the end of the day, this film
dragged and was predictible.
You're right about the predictability (the clue's in the title, really), but I don't really think the Millionaire game was the point of the film. I think that the idea was to show that education isn't just about fancy schools, having the best teachers, or knowing how to decline a Latin verb. It shows that to be educated, one simply needs a good deal of experience of life, of different types of people and of different ways of living; of having to cope as best one can in a given situation. The millionaire game and how it turns out is simply a device to show how he's learnt this.
This is what part of makes it an interesting film. We have a classic protagonist, but his character takes nothing from the main storyline of the film. His real personal journey is up to the point that he begins the game.
hoo givs a f*** abowt the lyf of a f*** wit lik tat. the thic b**** shud go 2 scoowl lik evry f*** has 2. _________________ JB
I know everyone's opinions are different and it would be a sad world if they weren't. But I have to say, "Slum" is a excellent film with all the right ingredients that makes a good film.....Totally kept me entertained in all aspects of different emotions. 10/10
But one thing it did do for me, and hope it doesn't have the same effect on everyone, because the tourist industry would suffer and it's this..... I don't think after seeing it I want to go to India, I always did until I saw this film.
Reason...... I couldn't enjoy my holiday knowing that people were living in such conditions and being treat the way they are. The scene where the kids are under the seating while people are watching Opera demonstrated this point strongly, that while the wealthy get on with there blinkered lives, people are starving and suffering, good on the kids for stealing their purses and other things, they have to survive.
Any hoo a fantastic film that has convinced me never to go to India.
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Well it certainly cleaned up at the Oscars.
