Slumdog Millionaire

4 out of 5 Stars
Ah India! A country so beautiful and at the same time decayed by religious and political strife. It would be hard to take a bad photo of Mumbai. Danny Boyle does not disappoint, on the contrary, he has created a film which so completely captures the beauty and chaos that is India -- the juxtaposition of the breath takingly peaceful, serene and romantic Taj Mahal surrounded by the slums of the lowest caste eagerly peddling their wares, and watching Indian 'Millionaire' on beat up television sets. Via the Indian train, the film captures both Bombay and it's surroundings as well as Agra and the Taj Mahal.

The gist of the story is so inherently Hindu that at times I wanted to cry out of plain adoration and respect for Jamal, the protagonist. As is the Hindu belief in karma, if you do good and true things, then good things will come your way. Danny Boyle took a script that could so easily have been turned into an average film and enhanced it so ingeniously by shooting entirely on location in Mumbai (even using some actual Bollywood sets -- not to mention the ingenious Bollywood dance sequence during the credits). The child actors he used are Mumbai natives, whose performances were heart breaking, honest, and completely accurate due to the fact that A) they have lived and experienced the material and B) they adore Bollywood. EVERYONE in India adores Bollywood.

Side note, when I was in India the Indian version of 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' (aka "Kaun Banega Crorepati?") is a show that appeals to the entire caste system -- I conversed about the show with taxi drivers, waiters, children in the streets, and business men. And Boyle captured this in the film -- television and technology in some ways as a tool bringing together a nation. It was clever how Amitabh Bachchan made an appearance in the Slums (in reality he is the host of Indian Millionaire, not to mention a legend of Bollywood film). When I was in Bombay, our Bollywood host took us to Mr. Bachchan's favorite restaurant guaranteeing that we would see him there and we did!)

I highly recommend seeing this film. It made me want to go back to India and spend more quality time with the children.