Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Directors: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan

Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Saurabh Shukla

A Mumbai teenager reflects on his life after being accused of cheating on the Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”

This is an interesting concept, where a young man’s life is being told through questions from the ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire’ game show.

Confused? Quite clever, really: Jamal (Dev Patel) knows the answers to all the questions. Fearing he might be cheating, he is being interrogated by the Police before the final question. As he explains how he knows all the answers, his life is shown through flash backs, relating to each of the questions. (I found the police methods unjust and would have sued them if they treated me in this manner!).

The film also illustrates the difficult and sad lives of homeless children, and the greed of people who control them (in this instance). ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ touches on many different elements. This is a well written story, with excellent cinematography and sound. I also loved the soundtrack. Dev Patel is excellent as Jamal.

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is an inspirational, feel-good movie with a beautiful ending. Be sure to watch the credits for the musical finale. This is an awesome movie! (Although the film is set in India with an Indian cast, it is predominantly in English). It is a very different coming of age story, as well as a touching love story.

‘Slumdog Millionaire’ was a commercial success and critically acclaimed. The film earned a staggering $378.4 million on a $15 million budget. It received 286 award nominations, winning 153 including 8 Oscars (Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Writing, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Original Song, Best Original Score, Best Achievement in Sound Mixing).

Would I watch it again? Yes.