Slumdog Millionaire [Blu-ray] [2009] [US Import]

I do love the film and I got it as a present for my brother. Itis just a "feel-good" movie for those moments you need some happiness in your life.

Charles Dickens' novel "Oliver Twist," with its child protagonist and portrayal of criminals - their sordid lives in London's Victorian slums, and their exploitation of children, was made into a very successful musical motion picture, "Oliver." Slumdog Millionaire" reminds me of a British-Bollywood version of "Oliver." Like "Oliver" it romanticizes the terrible poverty of children who are left alone to live and die by their wits. Just as "Oliver" had more than a few extremely dramatic moments, some difficult to watch, "Slumdog" follows suit. Primarily, however, both films are made to be more entertainment than social commentary.

Eighteen year-old Jamal Malik, (Dev Patel), is a "chai wallah," who serves tea to employees at a Bombay call center. Unbelievably, he manages to get himself on the popular game show, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," as a contestant. Although literate, Jamal has no formal education. However he mysteriously manages to answer all the difficult questions put to him by the show's egocentric host, Prem Kumar, (Anil Kapoor). It seems like all of India is watching to see if the young man, originally from the slums of Darvi, will answer the final question correctly, an answer which would net him 20 million rupees. The show ends with the promise of an even greater audience and more tension the following evening, when Jamal makes his final, and hopefully winning, appearance.

The film begins with a scene of a Mumbai policeman torturing Jamal. The young man is beaten, waterboarded, shocked with electricity, you name it. Superimposed on the screen is a multiple choice question with four possible answers. "Jamal Malik is one question away from winning the jackpot. How did he do it? (A) He cheated, (B) He's lucky, (C) He's a genius, (D) It is written." This is the same format as the "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" questions. Mr. Kumar reported Jamal to the police on suspicion of cheating. After all, how could a slumdog know the answers to questions which have stumped doctors, lawyers, even Ph.Ds? Finally, after an exhaustive interrogation, the police chief believes that Jamal may be legit, and asks him to tell how he acquired his knowledge.

Thus, Jamal takes the viewer on an adventure...on many, many exhilarating, terrifying adventures. For every question asked on the show, Jamal has experienced a life event which gives him the wisdom needed to respond correctly. There are frequent flashbacks to his childhood, and these flashbacks are what I most enjoyed about the film. These scenes include the vast, colorful, impoverished hell of the Darvi slums, where he and his older brother, Salim, were born and try to survive. Adorable scamps, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, as young Jamal, and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, as older brother Salim, run with a crowd of children who inflict mayhem on their surroundings. Their energy is so contagious, that one focuses more on the baby hooligans' activities, mostly illegal, than on their terrible way of life. In one instance, the camera pans out, and from high above the filthy slums look like a colorful patchwork quilt.

The boys witness their mother's murder by a group of marauding, anti-Muslim hating fanatics. Left on their own, they meet another orphan in similar straights, Latika, a shy and lovely girl. (Rubina Ali plays the child, Freida Pinto the teenager). They call themselves the "Three Musketeers." Together they hitch a ride on a train and are thrown off in Agra India, the home of the Taj Mahal. The boys, after a few days listening to guides, improvise an improbable history of the fabulous monument, and show gullible European tourists around, earning enough money to live on.

The three children are eventually discovered by a Fagin-like character, the brutal gangster Maman, (Ankur Vikal). He and his cronies tell Jamal, Salim and Latika that they run a comfortable orphanage and convince the kids to go with them. In fact, Maman collects street children and trains them to beg for money. He cruelly has some of them blinded and crippled so they can earn more money on the streets. Salim, who is being groomed for bigger things, sees one of the children being deformed and he and Jamal escape before Jamal can be treated in a similar manner. Through an "accident," as Jamal is led to believe, Latika is left behind. Jamal never forgets her. He loved her as a child and will continue to love her as a man. His obsession is to find her. It is his destiny. Salim's destiny is quite different.

To avoid spoilers, I won't continue to summarize the plot. I will say that I loved the extraordinary energy of the film and the wonderfully lavish colors, of the clothing, landscapes and characters. There are so many rags to riches fairytales out there, but this one is special. The last musical number, "Jai Ho" is outstanding - a great song and memorable choreography! The acting, by a relatively unknown cast, is usually excellent and the pace is fast.

Screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy adapted the story from the novel "Q & A," (2005) by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup. Beaufoy has expressed his joy at developing and introducing so many different genres and mini-tales within the overall story. Director Danny Boyle earned himself a 2008 Academy Award for Best Director and "Slumdog Millionaire" won for best picture.

My only complaint is that the adult characters of Jamal and Latika seem flat and detached. I also think the movie could be improved upon by eliminating the romance, which I felt was a bit cliched and confused. Underdog, slumdog, Jamal is a BIG winner & that is so upbeat...but does he need to be a millionaire to finally win the girl?
Jana Perskie

I know it's been said a million times already and I hate to sound cliché, but it's a statement that rings true every time you say it. Who would have thought Danny Boyle, a man from Manchester could have created such an award winning phenomenon. Slumdog Millionaire is a film I tried to keep away from as long as possible as I didn't want to seem like a person who jumps on the bandwagon. I guess it was inevitable that I was to see it eventually and tonight was the night. It has remained in my memory for a few hours so far and that lump in my throat has yet to subside. From start to finish I was completely engrossed and I have decided that those saying negative things about this picture are ones trying a bit too hard to steer clear of that dreaded wagon.

So the story itself is based around 3 main characters, 4 if you count the "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" host. Jamal the main character starts off in a police station as he is accused of cheating to win the "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" big 20 Rupees prize. Determined to prove his innocence to the Police, he starts telling them the stories of situations in his life which taught him the answers to the questions which he has inadvertently remembered for all that time. What we get to see as the game show progresses are a number of different defining events in Jamals childhood that are in one way heart breaking and in another heart warming.

He and his brother Salim remained very close to one another from birth and stuck together after their mother was killed. One night after the murder of their mother, they were sleeping in a container as protection from the rain and they met a girl named Latika. Jamal took this companionship from one of his favourite books and labelled them the Three Musketeers, although they could never remember the name of the third after Athos and Porthos. Salim's relationship is never too favourable towards Latika until they get older and after being split up at the still very early age, they meet up many years later and events get worse and worse with Salim raping Latika.

There are other events that take place which I will not spoil for the sake of your enjoyment, so I will now comment on the other amazing parts of the film. The acting was superb throughout and brought some genuinely surprising choices and showed us what they were capable of. Of course the young and teenage versions of Salim, Jamal and Latika were superb but unfortunately attracted accusations of these Indian child actors being taken advantage of. Whether they were or not doesn't take anything away from their fantastic performances. The adult versions of the three characters are played by the fantastically surprising Dev Patel (Jamal), Freida Pinto (Latika) and Madhur Mittal (Salim). Each delivered an astonishing performance, especially from the wonderful Dev Patel known originally to myself as Anwar from Skins in the UK.

The film was set mostly on location which allowed for the true tragedy of the Mumbai slums to be captured in all their glory. There have been things I've read that accuse Danny Boyle's picture of being demonising of the life in the slums. I don't know how you can demonise actual conditions being shown as they are, if anything I believe this is more complementary of the life in the slums. Although you could imagine it to be a very poor and dirty area, the slums are shot in a way that looks very artistic and in some senses quite beautiful. The soundtrack complements this immensely and I think without such spectacular music behind it, I think I would have had a whole different perspective on the film.

To those steering clear of the film because of its massive award success, I have only one thing to say. You're idiots, the lot of you. This is a beautifully artistic masterpiece that should be enjoyed by all film fans alike. I could talk for hours about the psychological implications of the life suffered by the children in this picture, but I have chosen not too. It's a brilliant film that I know as long as you give it a chance, you will love it.