One of the best films of the year, if not the best

Rating: 10/10 (4 January 2009)

On paper, the film sounds like nothing extraordinary. A young man from India gets a chance of a lifetime to go from rags to riches by being a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." Throw in another plot strand, that of the same young man trying to reunite with his long lost love, and it sounds like a been there, done that type of story. Yet director Danny Boyle, in what is probably his best film, comes up with ingenious ways to tell this story in what surprisingly turns to be one of the most original films I've seen in a long time. Told with a hyperkinetic pace and punctuated by an outstanding soundtrack (with songs by M.I.A., one of the hottest singers of this generation), this film, detailing the struggles of two brothers growing up, one a street-smart hustler, the other, the hero of the story, more innocent and good-hearted, is never predictable, and is by turns funny, suspenseful, sad and inspiring  sometimes all in the same sequence. Boyle makes a point to show the side of India we hardly see in pictures  instead of a country of glossy palaces that is home to a more than a few billionaires and an industry which exports four-hour long hyperbolic Bollywood melodramas, we see (in superb shots) a struggling, overcrowded India full of hardship and despair, where slums stretch for miles and life is very cheap, if even worth anything at all. But in no way is this a depressing sob story nor is it a predictable fairytale trying to be this year's Oliver Twist; in fact, it's a hugely entertaining film that offers sharp, incisive social commentary on not just the impoverished of India, but of economic hardships and what people do to overcome such adversity no matter where they may be in the world. That is no easy task, and the fact that Boyle accomplishes it so entertainingly well makes it all the more remarkable. It sounds like it shouldn't work, but as one character notes on Jamal's life, it's bizarrely plausible. It's also one of the most audacious, daring and best films of the year. Stay for the end credits.
(Side note: This film, in one harrowing sequence, confirmed for me what my good friend from Singapore told me: That you should be very cautious when giving money to beggars, particularly those in Asian countries, as they are more than likely controlled by the mafia. Especially if they are blind or look maimed in some way  the more pathetic they look, the more they are able to elicit sympathy money from unsuspecting tourists.)