Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire

It was a Saturday afternoon from many months back. I was running the treadmill and channel surfing when I chanced on The Screening Room, a 30-minute CNN program dedicated to the movies.

On that episode they were featuring the hits and misses of the Toronto International Film Festival. One of the hit films featured was an Indian movie based on the novel “Q & A” by Indian author Vikas Swarup about a teenage boy in a popular game show and his quest for a lost love. The segment dedicated to the movie was only for a few minutes but I thought the movie was worth watching. The title was Slumdog Millionaire.

I was right. A few months after "discovering" the film on the treadmill, it is now gaining popularity (by word of mouth) and momentum to win Oscar's biggest prize. I think American media dub it as the “little film that could” having been made for a measly $15 million dollars.

The film tells the story of Jamal Malik, an 18-year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who gets to play in "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?". It starts with the torture of Jamal in a police precinct. It was, in the minds of the interrogators, incredulous that a slumdog would know the right answers to the questions asked. Jamal then narrates the series of events, shown in flashbacks, why he knew the answers and the real reason why he is on television.

This is a terrific crowd-pleaser of a film from Danny Boyle, the director of Trainspotting, The Beach, and Millions. The editing, musical score, and cinematography are just superb. And Dev Patel, who plays the titular character, gives an affecting performance of the protagonist's longing, earnestness and unadulterated love for a childhood friend.

After watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button I thought then that it was the film to beat in this year’s Oscars. I’m taking it back. That film had a disconnect that I could not quite put a hand on. Slumdog Millionaire does not. Watch this!

10 comments:

gillboard said...

it was good, yeah?

loved that film.

Raft3r said...

i better watch this one

may local release ba ire?

The Scud said...

gillboard > me too. :-)

raft3r > you should. it's worth every peso. i haven't read or heard of a local release date. bummer. inuna pa nila ang bride wars.

Visual Velocity said...

Bride Wars? Is that the one with Kate Hudson? Swear to god, 99% of her films are horrible. Ehehe.

Saw Slumdog a couple of weeks back. Very endearing film; I like the Bollywood dancing part.

The Scud said...

andy > sobra ka naman. i think kate has one great movie - cameron crowe's almost famous.

Visual Velocity said...

Yes, and that's her only decent film, so that's about 1% out of 100%. :-)

Raft3r said...

ehem, andy!
almost famous rocks!
hehe

Visual Velocity said...

@Raft3r

I like Almost Famous. I honestly do. Swear to god, it's the only decent film Kate Hudson made in her entire life. Ehehe.

The Scud said...

andy > may chance pa si hudson to change your mind. bata pa naman. hehe.

raft3r > almost famous is one cool movie. mapanood nga ulit.kung may oras. :-)

Mac Callister said...

im gonna watch this too!!!