Rags to riches fairytale that wins hearts.

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2009)

Destiny is to drama what codependency is to romance films. At the start of Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire", the audience is confronted with the question: how did Jamal reach the 20 million question? a) he cheated b) he's lucky c) he's a genius d) it is written. During the course of the film the a, b and c options are eliminated as we witness the bizarre ways how a street rat gets to know the answers to every one of the questions on the famous show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Jamal and his brother are orphaned at a young age when their mother is slain in a religious hate crime. They live on a landfill until a mob like figure notices them and picks them up for the use of organized begging. At this point in the story, the two musketeers (as the brothers call themselves) have met up with a third, by the name of Latika. However, they do not know the name of Dumas' third knight. As in most great love stories, circumstances hinder Jamal and his soul mate Latika from being together time and time again: when it's not the ruthless underworld of Mumbai, it's Jamal's pathologically mean and innately jealous brother Salim, and even the game show host plays an intricate part in making their path towards each other labyrinthine.
I expected an uplifting family film but came out surprised at how gruesome and bare-boned the film turned out. There's one scene where a child is blinded for life with what I presume is hot oil that is particularly disturbing. Luckily for us, director Boyle also put in a healthy dose of comic relief and heartwarming moments. Especially the way the brothers gather sustenance and money is amusing. They hang upside down on the side of a train to steal food from travelers, and they charge tourists for a tour of the Taj Mahal with completely made up facts.
In many ways, "Slumdog" follows a traditional rags to riches trajectory, where one's lucky to escape poverty and with means comes love. However, what Boyle's trying to say is not sit on your behind and wait for fortune to find you. He's saying pursue your passion tenaciously. How lucky Jamel may be, he's partly responsible for making his own luck. He uses his street smarts to track down Latika, going in the mouth of madness to do so, namely his former mob begging and whore circuit. He doesn't even give up after Latika rejects him because he knows she's just scared and he needs to be brave enough for the both of them if he wants them to be together. "Slumdog Millionaire" is a very good film, no question, but it is not the great masterpiece of 2008, the way "No Country For Old Men" or even "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" was for 2007.