It is written - Anonymous
If there is one film that is filled with incredible creativity, the joy of luck, eye popping colors, all in a modern love story, Slumdog Millionaire is it. Films such as this come out of a time and place for countries that have come into their own through what seems like miraculous change.
Director Danny Boyle who is the English director of such works as Trainspotting, gives voice to not only memorable characters, but a country that appears to be going through it's own renaissance. It reminded me so much of another great film from a foreign country, "City Of God", that within 7 minutes I knew I was watching something very special.
The basic plot is told in flashbacks of the main character Jamal (Dev Patal), who appears on a game show set to win 20 million rupees. When we first meet Jamal he is being interrogated by the police for cheating, demanding how a slum kid with nearly no education could know the answers to the game show's questions. From there we are taken back to his young childhood and the life he and his older brother lived, and eventually the climax of the game show.
There are 3 sets of actors who play Jamal at different stages (child years, teenager, and then the present young adult). What transpires is a fascinating history, country, people, places and adventure where the most abject poverty and hopeless conditions can still bring joy and a sense of purpose.
While the main cast is brilliant, and there is a who's who of Bollywood stars, the youngest actors were hands down the biggest scene "stealers" and gave the giant bearing the film deserves. We are thrown through their lives at a breakneck pace with Danny Boyle's fierce direction. Chases through slums, a POUNDING soundtrack, and gorgeous cinematograhpy that shows the beauty and powerful colors of even India's most brutish living conditions.
The climax I can not give away, or bother to tell the main twists and turns of this stories principal character. This isn't just a brilliantly well put together film with a great cast. This is a film that does something I haven't seen from cinema in a long time. A foreign director who gives a country it's true voice to the world. More importantly, Slumdog Millionaire makes you "believe". It is a ride that you'll want to get on as soon as possible.
