Slumdog Millionaire: Review By SupermanEmpire

Every once in a while films come out that pretty much everyone unanimously appreciate and like. It’s very rare when films come out that everyone unanimously love, such seems to be the case with Slumdog Millionaire. I am familiar with Danny Boyles work and think he’s a very talented director. He have us such films as 28 Days later, and Trainspotting. Both great films that at their core...were supported by tense and very real love stories. Let me just say first and foremost that this is Danny Boyles masterpiece, and his Oscar for Best Director is well deserved. For a film like this, a story of destiny and true love, Danny Boyle is the perfect match...and ironically...its like the fates collided and destiny intervened. At this point in Danny Boyles career as a director to attempt a foreign film on a tight budget in such ridiculously hard locations, he knew it must have been fate. His was a harrowing labor of love, and in Slumdog Millionaire it shows. The locations alone in this film are eye opening. I will fully admit my mentality of India before Slumdog was one of a bustling economy, big cities, and of an interesting and proud heritage of historical culture, and civilized government. I try to stay abreast to the news, and I remember the various terrorist attacks that have taken place in Mumbai. But other then that I would have never conceived that within India lived the kind of hardship that is put on display in Slumdog. The story surrounds an 18 year old orphan named Jamal. The film begins with Jamal as a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The film’s pacing works off from flash backs that show us where Jamal came from, how he became an orphan, and then begins to reveal the circ*mstances as to how and why Jamal has found himself in the sought after of this film is Jamal’s fated connection with his one true love Latika. Their story is one that will truly get to you, and although I’m not a confessed sentimentalist, I will say it pulled at my heart strings. We follow Jamal as he tells us his story of coming up from the slums, surviving a religiously charged murderous raid on his village, and that of the destined moment he and Latika met as children. Another prominent character is Jamal’s older brother who escaped with him. This character serves as a sort of antagonist (amongst others), which works well bringing realism to the story. After all, often times in life those that cause us the greatest amount of pain or setbacks are our family. Slumdog takes us all over India, from Bombay to Mumbai and its beautiful wide shots give us this clear contrast of this country’s infrastructure…. from the bustling cityscapes….to the hastily mismanaged result of such break-fast progress with the trash heaped slums. All these shots are given amazing range, with an equally beautiful result. The connection between our two main characters is electric, and their tumultuous relationship marred by tragedy yet held together by love, will have you pulling for them all the way through this film. Slumdog will make you angry, it will certainly make you sad, but above all it will make you cheer, and this day and age...that’s certainly worth the price of an admission ticket. It’s no surprise this film won Best Picture at the Oscars this year. Slumdog stands as a very original and strikingly powerful film of 2008. It already comes highly recommended, but never the less...I’d invoke you to see it, and experience that power first hand.