"It is written." ~ from Slumdog Millionaire
If you haven't yet seen the movie "Slumdog Millionaire," you are missing out.
Oh. My. God.
Saw it yesterday, and it was just terrific. Great writing, great filming, and a beautiful, poignant, original story -- with a great romance and a happy ending, to boot.
What's it about? Well, Jamal Malik is an 18 year old orphan living in India who's basically had the roughest life a kid could have, from an early age. His brother Salim is the only one who looks out for him (and later, the beautiful Latika, also an orphan, that they meet while outrunning terrorists). Together the brothers figure out how to survive some pretty hellish circumstances (and yes, there are parts of the movie that are disturbing in their reality).
Anyway, Jamal ends up a contestant on the Indian version of the TV show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" -- and he's one question away from winning the whole thing when the movie opens. Of course, the producers of the show can't believe a "slumdog" could possibly know the answers to all the questions, and that serves as the premise of the movie. In flashbacks to his childhood and adolescence, we find out what kind of life experience has in fact taught Jamal the answers.
The movie is beautiful, just beautiful. Underneath the sadness of Jamal's youth is a lot of humor, along with a precious romance between Jamal and Latika, all set against the violence and poverty of modern-day India. It's been nominated for 4 Golden Globes, and I can understand why. Put it on your viewing list. Today.
1 comment:
Am I going to cry? If so I have to wait until it comes out on DVD so I can cry in the privacy of my own home.
And I cry easy. Like when the dog dies in I Am Legend.
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