Fascinating look at modern India

Rating: 9/10 (16 February 2009)

Tentatively -- 8 out of 10 stars (I'll have to see it a couple more times to finally decide) This is a movie about life primarily in Mumbai/Bombay, India, as seen through the life, struggles for survival, challenges, and aspirations of 3 street urchins, two brothers (Salim & Jamal), and a girl (Latika) as they grow up from their preteens to their twenties.
The 3 are Muslim in a divisive culture -- Hindu & Muslim -- and their parents are murdered, they are orphaned in a fratricidal attack by fundamentalist Hindus on Muslims. The film's narrative shows how they survived from then through early adulthood.
I had problems understanding probably 25-33% of the dialog, sometimes because of accents, sometimes for whatever other reasons (my own hearing problems?) -- soundtrack, foreign language, etc.
The panoramic views of India's civilization, its mixtures of poverty and wealth, ancient and modern, means of surviving, its varied levels of comfort, are unparalleled. Have you ever called a Customer Hotline and been answered by someone you figured was in India? Then you'll appreciate some scenes.
Most critics give this movie a 9/10 or 10/10. I need to see it again to really decide.
I can say that the background music was superb, the actors playing the early, middle, and later years of the principal characters, the "3 musketeers," were excellent and Latika -- in her various ages -- became increasingly more beautiful. As a professional family therapist, I found the later divergence between the two brothers to be quite plausible (although not inevitable). Nothing was out of place, out of belief, for this clinical psychologist -- a level reachable by maybe only 30-40% of films.
Some people who want a very propelled, tight and structured narrative may not much appreciate this film.
But those of us who especially appreciate a film that conveys a very intimate glimpse into other cultures will feel greatly rewarded.