Slumdog Millionaire
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Movie Reviews of Slumdog Millionaire
Movie Review: Who wants to be a Slumdog Millionaire?
Summary: 5 Stars
By the end of two hours, Danny Boyle would have sent you through the slums of India witnessing the abject poverty, religious violence, inhumane acts of cruelty (against children) and the eventual modernization of Mumbai where Jamal Malik sits in the hotseat about to win 20 million rupees in India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Through some strange twist of fate, he was arrested on suspicion of cheating and from there on, we see Jamal's life unravel in front of us as he recalls the answers to the questions.
Much credit must be given to the child star Ayush Mahesh Khedekarwho plays the child Jamal, for his excellent and endearing portrayal of a slum child who lost his mother to religious insurgents. Along with his brother, Salim, they navigate their way through the streets, making money through the most ingenious ways while never forgetting the young girl, Latika, whose hand let go of his during an escape. The main cast also works well but it's really also A.R. Rahman's excellent score and soundtrack with an eclectic mix of Indian, electronic and ethereal music that makes the film such a success.
At the end, Slumdog is a heart-wrenching and bittersweet tale of growing up and love. Still, it brings so much hope to the millions of children and people living in poverty-stricken areas of India.
As the credits roll, look out for the pulsating dance sequence that brings some cheer. Danny Boyle and AR Rahman deserve whatever accolades bestowed upon them thus far. (A+)
Movie Review: Who wants a Million Dollar Concept?
Summary: 5 Stars
I, like the rest of the world, heard about the Film of the Year; "Slumdog Millionaire". However, I never overheard a clear explanation of the plot and what I did hear was more confusing than helpful; a dramatic story built around a gameshow. In addition, I read where 2009 was such a mediocre year that a movie like "Slumdog Millionaire" might end up as Best Picture come Oscar time.
"Slumdog Millionaire" IS a very good movie. As it began, I thought that I was finding out too much too soon. With all this information up front, how would the rest of the movie keep my attention. Before long I realized the brilliance of its' cinematic concept; the answer to each question on the game show was learned in the school of Hard Knocks by our improbable hero, Jamal Malik. Jamal has lived a tough life and every tragedy and misfortune was etched in his memory. His seemimgly emotionless reaction to each correct answer on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" was a testimony to the suffering the answer brought to mind. Naturally, the movie lets us in on the "stories behind the answers". Along the way, we meet other characters important in Jamal's life as they weave in and out of his story. The ending is somewhat predictable but we would be greatly disappointed otherwise.
I guess "Slumdog Millionaire" IS a dramatic story built around a game show. However, it didn't take a mediocre year to give it a chance to win Best Picture. It would have competed in any other year as well.
Movie Review: Is it possible? A devastating look at India *and* a romantic comedy
Summary: 5 Stars
This brilliant film directed by Danny Boyle manages to take the harsh reality of life for India's orphans and to create an uplifting film about overcoming the odds and holding on to true love. Simon Beaufoy's screenplay, adapted from a novel by Vikas Swarup, tells this story brilliantly through the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", where Jamal, an uneducated young man, manages to know the answers to some very difficult questions, leading him to the point where he has only one question to win the 20 million rupees. Why he knows these particular answers and how he got to the game show unfolds through flashbacks, starting with the massacre of an entire village except for Jamal, his brother Samil, and a little girl named Latika. The violent street life that Jamal has known and the love he has lost have uniquely prepared him for this moment.
Dev Patel as the adult Jamal and Freida Pinto as the adult Latika create their roles with passion and subtlety, giving the rest of the cast an opportunity to shine next to them. The child actors are as natural and compelling as their adult counterparts. Viewers will find themselves alternately looking away from the horrors and then cheering for the way destiny exerts its ironies. This could have been an extremely disturbing movie -- and in parts, it is -- but the ultimate emotion is pure exhilaration. Don't miss the cast's final dance number!
Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire
Summary: 5 Stars
Slumdog MillionaireI really did not know what to expect when I saw "Slumdog Millionaire". I just knew it had swept the awards season, and I had a great respect for Danny Boyle, as a director. The film was, in turn, amazing, horrifying, romantic, beautifully photographed, engaging, and satisfying. What I do not understand are people who found it cliched or formulaic. There is nothing ordinary about "Slumdog Millionaire". The use of flashbacks to explain how Jamal knew the answers to the difficult questions was brilliant. Not that flashbacks are new territory; it is how they were used that is intriguing. How hardened do people have to be not to feel swept up into the emotions of the children in the slums of Mumbai? Are people that ignorant of what life is like in India? Danny Boyle just showed you what life was like for a certain caste of people, and some people still cannot see it. There are slums and abject poverty and beggars and orphans and thieves and human traffickers. I found a lot of this unsettling, but I can face the truth. Why is it easier to watch a teen slasher film than the truth about a real country? Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy, the screenwriter, as well as all the wonderful actors, have created a masterpiece. It is deserving of all the accolades it received.Movie Review: When the glory and cosmic justice exceed the misery and hopeless !
Summary: 5 Stars
"Slumdog millionaire" is a modern fable, an amazing fairy tale in the middle of the hopeless and the misery in one of the most overpopulated and unhealthy cities of the world.
The genial idea to blend the brutal conditions of living of a good part of childhood around our world, remits us forcefully to those times of the Italian Neo Realism (De Sica's The shoemaker , Rosellini's Germany year zero) and the two sublime French masterpieces (Rene Clement's "Forbidden games" and Truffaut's "Four hundred blows") with the splendor of the fifteen minutes of bombastic glory when the right answers collide with transcendental and random events of his miserable existence.
Jamal is a motherless and homeless child whose hazardous existence walks at the razor's edge day after day. The countless obstacles he has to surmount will never make him to miss his romantic dream: Latika. So, he will keep an admirable personal ethic despite the abominable corruption and nasty social surroundings.
Danny Boyle (whose previous cinematography experienced a dramatic turn with this masterwork) captured faithfully, the misery and the glory through a perfect edition whose dynamic rhythm process engaged the viewer from start to finish.
With all fairness this film imposed itself above the rest of their competitors.