slum-dog millionaire

this is a really good film, and my expectations were, if anything, to regard the “Academy Award seal of approval” with great scepticism. No, in spite of having been “officially” endorsed as the best film of the year, it really, really is an outstandingly good film. And not outstandingly good in a worthy and rather academic sense – it is incredibly real, human and enjoyable. It doesn't rely on a big budget, famous actors or special effects – what it has is a compelling story, good - and at times innovative - camera-work, relaxed and realistic acting, a love story, and a sound basis in the reality of the tough and traumatic lives led by orphaned slum-children - even if it does involve a kind of fairy-tale tragic-happy ending based on what has to be a statistically unlikely series of coincidences. This is not because the story was thought up by a lazy half-wit as so many Hollywood plots are – it is because it is asking us to disengage our judgemental and rational minds and engage emotionally with a person's life. And I think that it is saying something very positive and life-affirming about the possibility that destiny may be a stronger force than adversity, hardship and the brutality of life.
I much prefer a film that allows for the possibility that somewhere, perhaps beyond the line of our normal vision, there lies the possibility that chance, destiny, karma, will reverse and reward suffering and loss. I know that this is often seen as naïve and unrealistic compared to the typical film-noire ending where the bad guys win and the worthless anti-heroic protagonist is fulfilled in the meaningless cycle of destruction that his life entails. Those endings are of course fiercely realistic and reflect the grim realities of most of our lives, but I do think that a story – whether told in film or book should contain, not just the sad truth of pain, brokenness and moral deterioration, which indeed are issues that are not avoided in Slumdog, but should also contain the very essence of what fires creativity in the first place – the fact that hope never dies in the human soul and that everyone has within them the seeds of a better self. Often the truly meaningful rewards in life are not financial ones, and in this film the issue of whether or not the uneducated boy from the slums will or will not win the astronomical sum of money are entirely secondary to the issue of whether he can rescue his “princess” and be reunited with her.
Having said all that, there is also a strong vein of humorous cynicism about human nature running through the film and a kind of self conscious poking fun at the kind of naïve and implausible formulaic “happy ending” kind of movie it most definitely is not. One of the great moments is the ending, which I won't spoil in any way, but which highlights just how much it is NOT a Bollywood movie in a gleeful and very entertaining way. The fact that it's made in India is another thing I really like about it. The country is shot in a frank and unpretentious way – without all the “get out the incense sticks” kind of pseudo-mystical bullshit that is usually implicit in the way India is filmed and portrayed. The three main actors, at all their various ages, are all very good and indeed, look so good, with their dusky skin and expressively dark eyes. The greatest performance, I believe, is given in the lead role by Dev Patel who plays the adult “slum-dog”. I think it takes great acting skill to communicate emotion, character and mood without saying a word – and it is the expression on his face alone that communicates everything about a very fragile and traumatised person who has really been in a state of shock and crisis since he was a very young child. I don't think really good movies ever just happen by accident, or just because they are fun to watch – they happen because they touch on something at the very core of being a human being. I geuss that's what makes Slumdog a good thing to watch.