Wonderful in every way

Rating: 9/10 (18 January 2009)

Wow. Rarely am i so blown away by a movie. You can't go anywhere at the moment without someone telling you to watch this film and the industry yaddering on consistently about how its the much amazing thing thing to arrive years. Hype aside, this is one hell of a film. Every part of it is just wonderful. I want to watch it again but i don't want to ruin it. I was so much more moved than i ever thought i could be - disturbingly and unexpectedly so.
The very first thing is the incredibly beautiful photography. The colour grading, depth of field, use of lighting and overall feel is just aesthetically perfect. Every single shot has been thought out for the purest stunning film-making beauty. You absolutely cannot fault the camera-work, editing or cinematography. Every director, DoP and production team aspires to make a movie that looks this stunning on screen.
It's a fairytale of course, but brutally underpinned by the savage brutality of corruption, exploitation and abuse. It woke me up to the work done by children's aid agencies and the sheer darkness of Homo Sapiens, but also to the steadfast driving power of romantic love and hope itself.
The story revolves around a boy from the slums (a "slumdog") who is appearing on a game show and has answered all the questions correctly despite his lack of education because each one answer is provided by a memory in his past. The message is that destiny has led him to be there, and he has gone through each situation so he can gradually answer each question at that moment and get to the prize that he was always going to get to, and give everyone hope simultaneously. The reason for the tragedies was so he could get the prize. Suffering has a purpose and is all part of a grander plan - it is written.
All the pieces are there - the helpless girl, the corrupted brother who redeems himself, the evil barons exploiting the vulnerable, the romanticism of poverty (as much as there can be one), all in a unique cultural setting. A lot of people will have been cynical of Bollywood (me included) but for me the truly wonderful thing about this film is the real-life pride and hope it has generated in India.
The young lady who screamed at me down the phone to watch it as soon as i could is getting a big kiss!