1,000,000 Thumbs Up To Slumdog Millionaire
January 11th, 2009
Earlier today I went to see Slumdog Millionaire with my wife. Now this is why movies get made and I pay money to see them (after my last Nicholas Cage and Keanu Reaves movie theater experience I almost gave up going to movies).
If you want to maximize your India experience this summer, I can’t recommend this movie enough. It will help get you ready for some of what you will see (e.g., the poverty; child begging, Mumbai, the environment, class struggle, an early scene in the movie is centered on kids playing cricket - almost a religion in India, etc.) and help you better understand the why and some of the context behind said why. It is now playing at SLO’s beloved Palm Theater (link includes showing schedule).
What I loved about this movie is its reflection of Indian culture - the glass is half full, not empty. You can choose to have hope and a brighter future or you can choose to play the victim. It’s your choice. It also shows an India and emerging market on the move and one full of business opportunity for the hearty and peril for the unprepared. Click on the following link for this past week’s SLO New Times review of the movie.
Check it out for your next study break.
17 Comments Add your own
1. Eric White | January 17th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
I watched this video very differently than I would a movie for entertainment. Yes, it was very entertaining, but when the flashbacks occurred, I found myself actively looking for different aspects of Indian culture.
We talked about the toilet situation in India. Slumdog Millionaire’s (SDM) hilarious scene depicted just that - an open pit.
Injuring child beggars for profit, obsession with cricket, children living in trash pits, prostitution, even the Indian head shake (meaning ‘I understand’ instead of ‘yes’), all of these aspects of the culture were displayed in the movie.
I saw a NY Times video on prostitution in Cambodia, but I’m sure it could just as well have been about India. Look here: http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/01/03/opinion/1194837193498/the-face-of-slavery.html?scp=3&sq=sex%20trade&st=cse
Its only a 5 min video, but if you look at 2:17 into the video, one former prostitute shows the reporter a torn down brothel. I was reminded of this in the SDM brothel scene. It hit me hard because the brothel in the movie was nearly identical to the one in this clip.
2. Josh Hickman | January 21st, 2009 at 2:34 pm
I saw this movie over the weekend and I thought it was very informative and provided some insight into this distant land and some of the injustices that happen every day. This movie reminded me of a Chindia meeting I believe last quarter when Dr. Carr was talking about children begging at a train station while last year’s group was waiting around at the depot. Dr. Carr said something along the lines of, “When you are there and you see these kids with burn marks on their face and some of which who had been blinded, you have to make a choice. You can give them money because you feel bad for them and hope your contribution will help out, or you can decline because the mob has hurt these kids in order to collect their earnings from American tourists.” Seeing this type of practice in the movie put a new perspective when you actually saw it happening. I still do not know what I would do if given this opportunity. Other than the eerie thought that children are being abused and exploited for profit in India, the movie was excellent and I highly recommend it to everyone going on this trip.
Check out http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Sex,-begging-mafia-trap-Kerala-kids:-400-in-2002,-now-over-1000/22961/ for a sad article that dives deeper into the “begging mafia” problem in India.
3. Emily Schaapveld | December 15th, 2009 at 8:38 am
Excellent movie! I was not quite sure what to expect when I saw it on the big screen, but I was blown away when I left the theater. I had visited India a year and a half before the movie was released, so Slumdog really spurred my emotions from the trip. I was volunteering in rural villages and saw many of the slums. Though I realized the level of poverty and hardship, Slumdog portrayed life in the slums in a way that I would have never imagined. Everybody should see this movie.
4. Lindsay Leaver | January 7th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
I completely agree with Emily. Excellent movie! India has always been top on my list of places to travel, and this movie just reinforced my desire to visit. It was truthful and brutal at times. As Americans it is easy to live in the comfortable lap of luxury and ignore much of the worlds suffering, standard of living, and human rights violations. In fact, especially in SLO you could probably avoid thinking about or seeing the hard stuff all together. With all the attention that India gets for the fast growing economy and technology innovations, it can be easy to forget the hardship that still exists for a majority of Indians. This movie forces people to view many hardships from orphaned children, to religious wars, to child slavery, and poverty. But it does so in a way that gives you hope and is uplifting. Genius!
I love that Hollywood picked this movie as it’s best picture of 2009 too!
5. Jason Silver | January 19th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Slumdog Millionaire was definitely one of the better movies I have seen in a long time. What I loved about the movie was that it was given a traditional Bollywood storyline of a man and woman (or boy and girl) separated early only to find their way back to each other, and still succeeded in worldwide box offices. It had hints of being a love story as well as a coming of age, growing up in such a volatile and cruel world.
This movie provided tremendous insight to a world that most of us can truly comprehend. The portrayals of the massive slums, the poor hygiene, the lack of food and clean water, and the idolization of the rich, shocked me. The impact that this movie had on myself, the movie world, and Hollywood really spurred on intrigue and interest into the Indian subcontinent that I hope to continue during our trip.
6. Phil Hamer | January 23rd, 2010 at 2:47 pm
I was reading my assigned book The Elephant and the Dragon the other day and was shocked how it spoke of Indian slums as money making machines, and how the largest and most disgusting slums in India actually generate enormous wealth for the country.
It made me think back to this movie which showed a lot of money making going on, but didn’t take lightly the exploitation and illegal activity that go on in the slums.
I’ve read both good and bad reviews of Slumdog. The good saying that it is an eye opener to the atrocities that take place in India, the bad saying that it is “poverty porn” and exaggerates the poverty and is merely trying to give India a bad name.
I’m guessing that we will only be shown the shiniest side of India when we visit this summer, so I may never know exactly how bad India’s slums really are. At any rate, I loved the movie. The acting was far superior than in any Bollywood that I have ever seen and I think it deserved its acclaim.
7. Michael Harroch | February 5th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
From a cinematographic point of view, I was very excited when I first heard of this movie. A big fan of Danny Boyle, I particularly enjoyed 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. Slumdog Millionaire launched Boyle in a new genre of movie and did so in a great way. I was very pleased to see that the cinematography I had enjoyed in his previous movies was also present in Slumdog (scenic shots, good music etc.). Independently from this, I also greatly enjoyed the cultural richness of this movie. Culture is not only present in the content, but also in the form of the movie (reminiscent of a Bollywood movie).
Watching Slumdog Millionaire is certainly a must for anyone travelling to India.
8. Catherine Kristensen | February 6th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
My husband and I saw this movie in early 2009 after taking the GMAT together. At that point, Business School in general - especially the potential Cal Poly trip to India - seemed very far off. I know I would watch this movie from a much different perspective today knowing that a trip to India is in my near future…
I haven’t decided if I will watch this movie again before our trip, but I can say that I look forward to seeing the movie again later this year after returning from India. You always notice new things when you see a movie for the 2nd (or 3rd, 4th, etc) time; I am sure after traveling in India I will catch so much more of this film. It is exciting to imagine that we will soon be at the Taj Mahal, site of one of my favorite “Slumdog” scenes, and will also visit the Mumbai train station (where the final dance scene was filmed).
I think that the decision to end this film with the upbeat, musical/dance scene was vital to its success (and I don’t just mean the song’s Billboard success and “Best Song” Oscar win). The happy nature of the ending allows you to walk away from the film on a good note, rather than with the dark final image of Salim, dead in a bathtub full of cash.
The themes of friendship, love and destiny prevail in this film, allowing you to focus on the good instead of the poverty, corruption and destitution.
9. Kirk Story | February 7th, 2010 at 8:21 pm
My India-trip roommate and I watched Slumdog Millionaire and it was a great movie. I was expecting a ‘rags to riches story,’ but was surprised to discover the movie is actually a love story. And holy-moly- the woman that Jamal devotes his life to is ridiculously attractive. Wow.
It is difficult to imagine a violent India. Everyone I meet from the country is friendly, peaceful, and accepting. I wonder how much of this violence is hyped for entertainment purposes. Blinding children so they become more profitable beggars is shocking and creepy. Violence is ugly, but when Jamal’s brother, Salim, blasted Maman through a pillow- my roommate and I were fist-pumping like champs.
Slumdog Millionaire’s soundtrack was exotic and well put together. The cinematography for the film was also amazing; it often replicated the stark contrasts of extreme that appear to define India.
Kirk Story
10. Jay Ponto | February 11th, 2010 at 10:54 am
I really enjoyed watching this movie! The love story was very well done and centering the movie around the game show was a creative twist. I enjoyed this variety.
I also liked how the movie didn’t hold back showing real corruption and fraudulent conduct that often occurs in third world countries. That’s how life really is for some people, and it is imperative that others are aware of it. I’ve seen many people living in slums in Peru, Ecuador, and China, and “Slumdog Millionaire” reminded me of many images from those countries. The “business” of having beggars further reinforced my personal views of ignoring beggars in foreign places, in hopes of not furthering the development of those abuses. I am no stranger to foreign travel, and anticipating similar scenes upon our trip to India this summer.
11. John Barry | February 21st, 2010 at 9:21 pm
I too loved Slumdog Millionaire! Although Danny Boyle was clearly influenced by Fernando Meirele’s hand-crafted formula in “City of God,” of an optimistic do-gooder protagonist surrounded by crime, peril, and A SLUM, I found this movie genuine, heart-warming, and even original. Even though this movie was made by an English-man, it doesnt’ come across as lacking authenticity. The story line is great, the cinematography very beautiful, and the excitement of the world changing around the protagonist almost makes the added excitement prevalent in the movie unnecessary. This film seems to touch all the senses and even allows the viewer to come out feeling a little more cultured.
12. Danielle Steussy | March 7th, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Slumdog Millionaire truly is a gem of a movie. I agree with Michael in the sense, that perhaps one of the greatest aspects of the movie was the cinematography. It was so beautifully and artfully mastered with rich saturated colors, interesting and stunning shot perspectives (like the overhead shot of the slums), and the dynamic music selection. Simply put, I thought this film was an artistic masterpiece and the artistry of the movie led helped create the richness of the story itself. It exuded the culture of the slums and of India while wrapping up a beautiful love story into it all.
13. Michael Minasian | March 10th, 2010 at 9:07 am
When I first saw the trailer for this movie I was very excited. I had been following Dev Patel’s career since long before this movie. When I saw the trailer I looked past the “Who want’s to be a millionaire” angle which seemed like it might cheapen the experience.
Not only was I incredibly excited to see it, but many people had told me that it was great (it soft opened in LA so I didn’t get to see it right when it came out). This is usually a recipe for disaster; when I have extremely high expectations for a movie, it usually never gets close to reaching them. This movie was different. The emotional journey really allows you to connect with all of the characters, and honestly as cheap as it may sound, really piqued my interest in coming to India. I’m sure the reality of India is somewhat different from the movie, but either way it is something that I want to experience.
14. Frederick Peemoeller | March 12th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
I agree with you that the movie was amazing and it graphically depicts poverty that I have never seen before in my life. Although it shows the level of poverty, I thought it was interesting that many critics in India were taken aback by the movie. They claimed that it was geared towards westerners with its “poverty pornography” and “slum tourism”. They claim that India has more to show that this poverty, which I will agree with but that doesn’t make for a good movie. The one thing I disagree with is the perception of rags to riches in India. It just seems like the chances are a million to one that anyone could live in such impoverished conditions and become a successful and wealthy person. With such a weak infrastructure, it is extremely difficult to make something from nothing, and I doubt many poor Indians feel that the glass is half full.
15. Matthew Perez | March 19th, 2010 at 9:03 am
Slumdog Millionaire was an excellent movie. From the excellent soundtrack to the well executed choreography, this movie contained everything one could want in a movie. Probably the most intriguing aspect of this movie is that it provides a glimpse into a part of society most people are unfamiliar with. I have been in poor areas of East Los Angeles to visit relatives but the troubles of that area pale in comparison to the living conditions of the slums of Mumbai. How people manage to survive on so little is simply astounding.
Of course, I should not be as surprised as I am. Although my family’s troubles in this country were nothing like that those of the people depicted in Slumdog Millionaire, my family still overcame great adversity to become successful in this country. My grandfather died at a fairly young age, leaving my poor grandmother to watch over her nine children. To earn enough to take care of her children, she worked four jobs at once while forcing her older kids to sell tortillas and tamales door-to-door. Since she could not afford a baby sitter, my grandmother also had her older children watch the younger ones. Despite the tremendous amount of work she needed to do, she always made sure to prepare meals for her children when she could and ensure that her children were getting the education they needed to become successful in America. The fact that she has a grandson pursuing two Master’s programs at a prestigious university is a testament to her success. She may have never become a millionaire like Jamal did in the movie but the value she created for her children is certainly as valuable.
16. Chris Phippen | March 19th, 2010 at 3:32 pm
I haven’t yet seen the movie, but I’ve been planning to, especially after hearing so many positive reviews about it, and now looking at 14 very positive comments above. I’ve paid close attention to Jay’s descriptions of the movie and its value to us for our trip this summer, furthering my desire to see it. I especially like what the post above says about the glass-half-full idea in which you can choose to see a brighter side of things and a bright future or you can choose to play the victim. So true, it is always a choice. Looking forward to seeing the movie!
17. Yuxiang Gao | March 19th, 2010 at 7:51 pm
I watched this movie with Kirk, it is a great movie. The great part about this movie is that the whole money thing is kind of ridiculous in the really world, but when you watch the movie, you could feel it was real.
I and Kirk had some conversation about the main character’s brother.
Though that man is bad guy, but from him, I saw a shining quality called combatant spirit. He used this combatant spirit on the wrong way, but I appreciated his courage.
Compared to the happy ending of the main character, the brother’s ending is that not bad, at least he has tried to make some change in his life and he actually did it
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