Brilliant in a million different ways! (Slumdog Millionaire (DVD))

Member Name: kingfisher111

Product:	Slumdog Millionaire (DVD)
Date:	14/06/09 (181 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fabulous, fabulous film !

Disadvantages: none!

I had not got around to seeing Slumdog Milionaire at the cinema although I had really wanted to. Mnay of my friends had told me how good it was and with its success at the Oscars it had a lot to live up when we finally acquired it on DVD and sat down to watch it the othernight. I was not disappointed in the least and I thinbk I probably went through every emotion imagineable as I sat watching it. It is a truly amazing and memorable film and I am so glad that I watched it.

For anyone that does not know the general premis of the story it is as follows. Jamal, a call centre tea boy who grew up in the slums of Mumbai appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and surprises everyone by answering all of the questions correctly. No one can believe that a slumdog such as Jamal can know what he does so therefore he must have been cheating. He is taken to the local police station and brutally interrogated. As this occurs we are taken back through his short and difficult life to be shown where all these answers come from. I thought it was really clever how the film was crafted in order to do this and it made for incredibly powerful viewing.

We are exposed to the incredibly hard life lived by Jamal and his older brother Salim and also their young friend Latika. They see their mother brutally murdered and they have to get by by begging, stealing and scamming wherever they can. It's not an easy life but they are always resiliant as well as resourceful. There are some very poignant moments as well as some quite violent ones, but all three manage to retain a sense of survival. As well as this though there are a few funny moments too and also a sense of romance.

Having watched the film, I feel absolutely convinced that all of its eight oscars were totally deserved. The way that the film is put together is brilliant moving between the present and the past effortlessly. It's not difficult to keep up with the story even though there are a number of different strands to follow. The film is not afraid to confront some very difficult issues too, not least of all the slum poverty that exists in places like Mumbai. Even though this is only a story, it could be true, and definitely the poverty that we are exposed to in the film is a reality. Having said that though, it's not miserable and seeing the upbeat opportunistic children in the slums is in some ways quite uplifting!

What really made this film for me along with the absorbing storyline was the brilliant acting especially by the young actors who played the youngest Jamil and Salim. I can't find the words to describe how good they wre and they never even spoke a word of English - it was all subtitled! Their faces and their actions though spoke volumes and I just fell in love with the pair of them! I did hear somewhere that all the young actors who gave this film such energy did not really get much from the film and are still living in poor conditions. I really hope this is not the case.

All the adult actors are excellent too particularly Dev Patel who plays Jamal. Also Anil Kapoor's portrayal of quiz show host Prem Kumar was absolutely brilliant particularly as he seemed to have so many Chris Tarrant like features. He was a really nasty character at the beginning when he is openly making fun of Jamal before he is soon made to eat his words.

There is absolutely nothing in this film to dislike. Danny Boyle's direction, the cinematography, the story, the message, the acting, the music - all are absolutely superb. I defy anyone not to experience a whole gamut of emotions as you watch it and if you are anything like me you will feel drained by the end of it! On the DVD cover it is described as 'the feel-good film of the decade'. I was a little surprised by this description because when you watch it there are many moments when you will not feel good at all. You might feel shock, anger, shame, hope as well as many other things. However, once you get over all of these, I do think that by the end of the film there will definitely be that feel good factor mainly because - at the end of the day the boy done good! (The final credits are a lot of fun too so don't switch off too quickly!)

This is a truly excellent film and one that I recommend everyone to see.

If you are interested in DVD extras there are a lot of the usual things - deleted scenes, commentaries and original cinema trailers. There is a very interesting extra which is all about the making of the film which makes fascinating watching. Also, as Danny Boyle is such a great director in this film, his commentary is well worth taking a look at too.

The DVD is currently available on Amazon for £11.98

Summary: What an amazing film!