slumdog millionaire follows the story of jamal, a young boy who grew up in the poorest of neighborhoods in mumbai, india. he's currently one question away from winning the indian version of 'who wants to be a millionaire' and has been arrested for cheating, the reasoning being that he grew up in said impoverished neighborhood. seeing as that there is no way someone like jamal (see: slumdog, most similar to
an untouchable) could know all this information. jamal then tells his story, which the viewer sees through perfectly executed flashbacks, which end up piecing the story together.
i was a bit hesitant about watching this, considering the fact that i grew up with bollywood films. i mean the standard flick consists of a forbidden love story (with no kissing!), some songs sung in a choreographic fashion either in a meadow or with rain, some violence and usually runs anywhere from 3-4 hours in length.
this was a very well-crafted and overall incredible movie that anyone should be able to enjoy. and fyi: it's about 70% english, 30% subtitled hindi, so it shouldn't be TOO hard to follow. the movie did a seamless job in terms of working with the language barrier, i'd say.
slumdog millionaire is still slowly getting added to theaters across america, so keep an eye out for your local spots. i saw it about two weeks ago and forgot to post about it, but it's definitely a must see.
p.s. hit up the sound rack for SM, as it features a new MIA cut, among others. i'm pretty sure if i posted it, this post would be axed by blogger in no time.
grade: B+-slumdog grizzly
