Yesterday the intrepid movie critics, accompanied by my doggy friend, went to a good Indian restaurant for lunch and to a local cinema for a pretty good Indian-clone film, "Slumdog Millionaire." We all enjoyed the lunch – (thanks again, Julie, for the food and for the so-appropriate birthday gift of a lovely sheer wool stole from India).
The reactions of the three of us to the movie were not exactly uniform, however.
John was grinning when the credits were rolling; although this director, Danny Boyle, was a child of Great Britain, John said that he'd created a very authentic take on the sort of soap-opera movies he'd watched on TV in New Delhi – complete with evil gangsters, thwarted lovers, and a happy ending with dancing. He added that when he had driven through the slums of Delhi a few years ago, they certainly looked much more horrible than anything he'd just seen on the silver screen.
My reaction was somewhat parallel to that of my consort. I thought that even the garbage and the latrine slime had a sort of ethereal glow-look, and that the whole film was bathed in dreamy Technicolor light. And the conclusion, offering the vision of happily-ever-after, was completely unrealistic given the horrors those lovers had endured from birth.
But I think Julie's reaction illuminated the reason this film has been so widely acclaimed: she said, "I loved it! I've decided I love a film that makes me feel good." I think everyone does, and especially now when there is so much of a mood of crisis and worry in the world.
Julie, you should certainly add your comments and rebuttals to this, as I believe you saw something more in the movie than I did.
The performances were all excellent, however, and the emphasis on the value of truth-telling was striking and unusual in a film.
I thought about "Benjamin Button" in conjunction with "Slumdog," because they both present a fable rather than graphic realism. I wonder if there isn't a parallel between these sorts of stories and the cheery movies of the Depression era.
I still favor "Milk" as Best Picture; we will try to catch "Frost/Nixon" next week, before I summarize.
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2 comments:
I didn't expect to like this movie; I didn't even plan to see it, until Mom and I decided that we couldn't very well vote on the Oscars without seeing all of the nominated films.
I don't usually care much for happy-ending movies, and haven't been a huge fan of Bollywood. I tend to favor darker movies, heavy on the character acting.
But Slumdog gripped me from start to finish. The cinematography was of course spectacular, and Mom's right on about everything being bathed in a sort of glossy hue...But it was the plot that captured me, simple as it was: The plight of the little boys, the suspense of the game show, the gangster in the background, the love story..I was spellbound.
Looking back, the film owes a great deal to the expressive acting of the male lead, Dev Patel. To believe the story, you have to relate to his plight, and he did a beautiful job.
I was as surprised as anyone that I loved this film. But now that I've seen it, I'm not at all surprised at its success. Well done!
I loved "Big Fish" which fits that fable-style, as well.
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