Slumdog Millionaire

An unimaginable RollerCoaster ride from the squalor of a Mumbai slum to a completely believable realization of the most profound longing of all of us.

Being an old gringo who has never had personal contact with Hindi folks or visited India, I got connected via Bollywood. I am a high end home audio professional and my first attraction, besides the stunning actresses, was the really artful make use of surround sound and the engaging musical arrangements. That said, I first chased my way through the make believe world of the musical romantic comedies. Searching for more, I ran into some of the real gritty and honest views of life in India. They can leave you emotionally drained with the full complement of guilt, sympathy and a profound respect for the strength of the Human spirit.

This film is an amazing example of demonstrating the best and worst of what we can be. Nothing is held back. Against the vivd images of life in the squalor and horror of life in almost unlivable conditions, we are graphically shown the very best and worst of what we can be. We are reminded of the seemingly limitless optimism of children.

You will find it very hard to avoid becoming completely immersed emotionally in this film. As gritty and horrifying as it becomes, the depth of character and spirit of selfless devotion will overshadow everything else.

Just reviewing my emotional extremes as I took this ride, I am still amazed. When I watched it the fourth or fifth time I started looking for flaws in the characters and progress of the action or even the ending. A movie about making enough money to take you to a living Disneyland is never about the money or the Disneyland dream life that it would buy. That is just the common denominator carrot that draws you into the so much bigger story of a child's dreams and if you get a chance to step back from the torrent of emotion that you are assailed with, you get to see how dangerous the money and what it brings with it are. I guess I never really sat down and analyzed just how much this movie had to say or how much insight is revealed. Just stunning.

This film won several Oscars and deserved them all. It is a unique masterpiece that grabs the viewer on several levels: the story, the setting, the acting and the cinematography. SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is the story of how Jamal, a young, uneducated man, from India's lowliest slums, working in the most menial of jobs, achieves unprecedented success as a contestant on "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?" It seems impossible to believe that he would have the kind of knowledge to answer a wide assortment of questions that clearly would appear to be outside his scope of experience. But therein lies the brilliance of the film: how he knows the answers to each question is woven into the fabric of his life's experiences and told in flashback.

Orphaned at a very young age when their mother is brutally murdered, Jamal and his older brother Salim, survive amidst trash dumps. Their lives are brutally harsh and made more so when they become ensnared by a professional gang of beggars, and later when they do what they must to eke out a living. Yet in each vignette of their lives something occurs that provides Jamal with the critical knowledge he uses later on the TV program. Threaded throughout his story is his undying passion for a little orphan girl, Latika, who he repeatedly loses and then finds only to lose her again.

This is a story of the triumph of the human spirit. No matter how battered down and hopeless life appears, Jamal never gives up. An unforgettable movie that has already become an "essential".

Every American should watch this movie when they are old enough. I've seen poverty in Jamaica, Mexico, and Ethiopia. If you have never seen poverty, this is a REAL look at how most of the Earth's population lives. When we went to Ethiopia to pick up our adopted children, we were told that children were purposefully mutilated to help them be more efficient at begging, well, this movie goes there. Would you give money to those kids? If you do, you feed them. If you do, you feed the system that promotes destroying children. Tough call isn't it? ... What about the movie? It is a great plotline/story written at the high point of WWtbaMillionaire phenomenon around the world. From the depths of human filth and abuse, comes the story of three kids and how they overcome in the most unlikely way. I don't know if any other 'underdog' movie comes close, or should I say 'slumdog' movie? I bought the DVD to show to the World Religions class that I teach in a Lutheran high school. The kids are getting an education. I fast-forward through the scenes I know are too rough to show in school, but I can't show them a better movie to help them understand the Caste System, up close and personal.

I remember when the initial "...Millionaire" fever hit the U.S. back in 2000. It struck a chord with us armchair dreamers that with a little incidental knowledge of the most arcane trivia we could be instantly rich. Some nights without the pressure of the lights and the goading of Regis I knew all the answers and others I exhausted all my lifelines by the $1,000.00 question. Director Danny Boyle and scenarist Simon Beaufoy ingeniously tap into this wish fullfillment and transplant it to India, a country that contains some of the most unimaginable poverty. Reading some of the other reviews it appears that their film runs the gamut of love it or hate it. Some feel that they are exploiting the suffering in India for commercial gain. Others react to the plaudits the film received at the Oscars this year. I don't have an answer to either criticism. I can tell you I was engrossed throughout. I think the critical and commercial success of the film is a response to the Cinderella aspects of the story which serve as an anecdote to our tough economic times. History is the ultimate judge of a film's artistic worth. Divorce yourself from the hype and appreciate the innate qualities of "Slumdog Millionaire".

Most of the people that have criticized this movie have complained of the horrors that our hero faces. Quite frankly, they have a valid point. The gritty nature of this movie is probably a shock to the system for most. I know it was for me. But if you sit down to watch this movie, you realize that so much of our knowledge isn't learned in school. It's learned every day as we face reality, even if that reality is a cruel one (as in Jamal's case).

Jamal's back story (and the reason he knows the answers to India's version of, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire") is startling and charming and important, all at the same time. If you really want to understand everything good about this movie, take it in and let yourself be affected by the tragedy portrayed. No doubt, there are many "slumdogs" out there who face loss and human cruelty far worse than Jamal did in this film. Can you imagine? Because of the lessons I learned and because this movie didn't shy away from teaching me them, it deserves every accolade.

The images in this film will remain with you for life. It is an amazing story and very original in it's portrayal. This film shows two brothers who grew up in the same exact circumstances, but one takes the path of material wealth while the other is more interested in the spiritual wealth of love. I did however have some issues with the script. Some spoilers: Mainly with the character of Salim, Jamal's older brother. His portrayal seemed to be lacking in the film and at times a bit confusing. We see from the start that he is a torn individual. On the one hand he loves his brother very much, but on the other hand he is a hot head and a bully who wants to control those around him making him a conflicted and rich character. However it's hard to understand why Jamil continues to trust him throughout the film even after he rapes Latika and even after he kidnaps Latika at the train station. It gets even more confusing when Latika seems to care about Salim when he tries to reunite her with Jamal at the end, worried that his boss will kill him. The movie doesn't explain at all why these characters continue to place their hearts with Salim after everything he's already done to them. And the only indication we get from the film that Salim has doubts about his behavior is a couple of lines where he prays to allah that he knows he has sinned and where he says "I know" after Jamal says he'll never forgive him... but this happens also before he kidnaps Latika from the train station and scars her face for life. I think Salim's character would've had more impact if we were able to truly see his moral struggle which was difficult to detect. After all this is a man who was grappling so much with his guilt that he chose to kill himself in a tub of all the dirty money he helped aquire over the years. We should've seen the signs of this immense struggle that led him to do this and I don't feel that we really did. Another problem is the issue with Salim's cell phone. He gives Latika his cell phone obviously because he feels Jamal will call him for some reason. How could he be so sure that Jamal would call him after everything he had done? Then at the end Jamal does not know how to reach Latika so he waits for her at the train station hoping she'll show up. But wait- Doesn't she have Salim's phone? So why doesn't Jamal just call her up instead? These issues were what kept me from giving this amazing story 5 stars. Still, the movie is unforgettable and will leave a permanent imprint in your mind.

Loved it and more. Not one second from beginning through the end is boring, what a story!

This was a reminder to me and would be an eye opener for some of conditions children suffer from horrors of physical, emotional and sexual abuses. Millions are uncared for, unprotected, no rights, trapped in miserable lives, prisoners of the merciless and greedy for profit.

I think many would appreciate this movie and find that it was worth every minute of their time. This is my first opinion expressed in hope that the writers, actors, producers and all who deserve credit are rewarded with success beyond expectations.

Most of all I hope somehow this vicious corruption and abuse can someday be reduced by those powerful enough to affect change. The setting is India but millions of children around the world live this way and worse.

Thank you.

The movie is well done, and anyone who has spent some time in India will tell you that the underlying theme of child mutilation for the purpose of making better beggars used to be prevalent. I was there in the Seventies, and was astounded many times by the maimed, blind , twisted people on the street who had been "prepared for life" to be more successful at begging by parents and agents who knew that sympathetic givers are more likely to give more. The boys in this movie are good examples of the need in those years to learn to hustle, especially if they were normal. Intelligence can be measured by the ability to survive, and the quick mind of the hero is all he has to keep himself alive. It pays off in many ways.

The street scenes are by themselves good enough reason to watch this movie. "Oh, East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet"; and if you don't know what that means, watch this movie.

I HAVE EQUIPMENT TO PLAY DVDS OR ANY MEDIA FROM ANY REGION IN THE WORLD.

THIS PRODUCT JUST REFUSED TO FUNCTION

IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THE SELLER NEVER EVEN CHECKED THE PRODUCT OUT TO SEE IF IT FUNCTIONED.

BEWARE OF TIS SELLER!!!

スラムドッグ$ミリオネア 2008年

とても好きな映画で何度も観ているのでBlu-ray版を購入。

私がインド映画に目覚めたのが本作がきっかけ。

ストーリー自体も考えさせられるものがあります。

→物乞いを子供にさせれるために残酷なことなど多数。

だが、最後のエンドロールでは一転、軽快なミュージックと共に踊る。

何度見ても素晴らしい。

※動画は本作のエンドロールの魅力をダイジェスト版として※

Very disappointed. The filmer was only in German. No English at all

When it debuted on 4 September 1998, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire redefined the gameshow genre, brining with it a slickness and glamour which had never existed before. At its peak, it drew in 19 million viewers, aired in over 100 countries and saw millions of people annoyingly asking "Is that your final answer?" Then Judith Keppel (of Eggheads fame) won the million, and nobody could really be bothered watching it anymore. Viewing figures plummeted and it's been bumped to any random slot that can be found for it in the schedule. After watching Slumdog Millionaire though, you may just feel a yearning to give it another chance...but only if Anil Kapoor is hosting!

The titular `slumdog', Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), somehow manages to fly through round-after-round of India's version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? At the last question, and on the verge of winning 20 million rupees, he is arrested by the authorities for cheating and tortured. During his (brutal) interrogation, he reflects on his tumultuous life, with each chapter having played a crucial part in his current fortune.

With Slumdog Millionaire, genre hopping Brit director Danny Boyle has created three things - an edge of the seat thriller, a compelling drama and a work of art. Boyle's direction style, getting right down to street level, gives the film a breathless and exhilarating tempo, with the initial chase through the Mumbai slums reminiscent of the opening scene from Trainspotting and is deserving of comparison with the brilliant City of God. Boyle, along with cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, brings to life the slums of Mumbai, giving the film a vibrant and energetic tone. The feature also chronicles the transformation of Mumbai into the global city which it is has become. This is captured perfectly when Jamal is sitting with his older brother Samal (Madhur Mittal) in an incomplete skyscraper which is built on the site of their old slum. A.R. Rahman's Bollywood infused soundtrack maintains the energy of the film and also helps drive it.

The adapted screenplay by Simon Beaufoy has come in for criticism, with accusations that it's completely impossible that anything like Jamal's story could actually happen. This criticism is completely unfounded, and maybe these same critics should also be reminded the lions don't talk and barbers don't slice people's throats. Instead, what Beaufoy has created is a multi-layered, contemporary Dickensian parable, full of depth, twists and turns. The main message of the film is that most people don't learn the facts of life through sitting down and reading books; they are taught them through experience. The claims of `feel-good' film of the year should be taken with the pinch of salt though; there is much slumdog to get past before you reach the millionaire. The three fractured narrative strands of the film are also brought together well by editor Chris Dickens into one gripping story which flows seamlessly.

Dev Patel, former star of Skins, has Danny Boyle's daughter to thank for his current superstardom. After encountering trouble finding a lead in India - all of the male actors are buff, strong young men - Boyle's daughter suggested the young actor, and he fills the role of the `chia-wallah' brilliantly, making Jamal someone the audience wants to root for. The younger Indian children, who portray Jamal and his brother when they are younger, bring their slum dwelling experience to the fore, and fill the role entirely. Special praise must go to Anil Kapoor - aka Bollywood legend - as WWTBAM? host Prem Kumar, who acts as ringmaster for the entire proceedings.

The Verdict

An energetic, engaging, spirited and exhilarating modern day parable, told by a director at the top of his game - Boyle's hit the jackpot!!!

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