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A Really Good Film. Not as Great as I Was Led to Believe!
-
Nov 16, 2009
- by MichaelN
- posted in Love of Foreign Films
Rating:
+3
I enjoyed this film but I did not feel it was as great as all the hype it has received. The director uses flashbacks in a confusing manner starting with an adult Jamal being tortured in a Mumbai police station. We are then treated to all kinds of flashbacks with an adult Jamal playing the India version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and a very poor kid Jamal being abused by his bully brother Salim. Salim locks Jamal in an outhouse when the local celebrity comes to visit their villiage. The only way Jamal can get out is to fall in the cesspool beneath the outhouse. A Jamal covered with feces is able to get an autograph from the star.
Jamal's misery is intensified as his brother sells his Jamal's autographed photo and then a bunch of rioters kill the boys' mother. The two boys escape the rioters to be taken in by some criminals that are trafficing and exploiting young children. The boys eventually escape but Salim twarts the escape of Jamal's female friend Latika.
The movie follows them as they grow up and Jamal is constantly searching for his friend Latika. The movie shifts constantly between the present day torture in the police station, Jamal answering questions on the TV game show and the boys story growing up.
All through their life Salim is bad to Jamal and Jamal can never seem to find happiness without Latika. I really liked most of the film but I found the constant flashbacks and time shifts to be annoying. Also, the subtitles when needed were virtually impossible to read. Jamal's game show experience did not seem believable except if the movie were to be labelled a fantasy.
I did like the Bollywood number that the director threw in to the end. I liked the Paper Planes song that is played in part of the movie.
One of the better movies of 2008 but not the epic film that many make this movie out to be.
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About the reviewer
MichaelN
Ranked #13
Ranked #13
I first got on this blog to discuss my first passion which is books. Since I have gotten on I find that books are only a piece of this blog and I can discuss just about anything that comes to mind. It … more
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About this movie
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British drama film directed by Danny Boyle, with co-director Loveleen Tandan, and written by Simon Beaufoy. It is an adaptation of the Boeke Prize winning and Commonwealth Writers' Prize nominated novel Q and A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup.
Synopsis
An eighteen-year-old from the slums of Mumbai finds himself competing on the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," where the questions he must answer offer a look back at his earlier life. The show's host, however, insists that he must be cheating and takes steps to force young Jamal to admit that a boy from such an impoverished background could not possibly possess the knowledge necessary to win the show's top prize.
2008 Oscar Nominations
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Synopsis
An eighteen-year-old from the slums of Mumbai finds himself competing on the game show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," where the questions he must answer offer a look back at his earlier life. The show's host, however, insists that he must be cheating and takes steps to force young Jamal to admit that a boy from such an impoverished background could not possibly possess the knowledge necessary to win the show's top prize.
2008 Oscar Nominations
- Achievement in Cinematography
- Achievement in Directing
- Achievement in Film Editing
- Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Score)
- Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song, "Jai Ho")
- Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song, " O Saya")
- Best Motion Picture of the Year
- Achievement in Sound Editing
- Achievement in Sound Mixing
- Adapted Screenplay
Movies, Foreign Films, Foreign Movies, Reel Overseas, Bollywood, Indian Films, Oscar Winner, 2008 Oscar Winner, 2008 Best Picture Oscar Winner, Best Picture Oscar Winner, 2008 Oscar Nominee, 2008 Best Picture Oscar Nominee
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Glad you liked Slumdog in spite of the hype!