Slumdog Millionaire

R	Rottentomatoes.com Rating: 94%	2008
(Violence, profanity, disturbing images, thematic elements)	Picky Flicks Quote: "Hugely enjoyable and bursting with energy, this is a superbly directed, brilliantly written and beautifully acted drama that packs a powerful emotional punch." -Matthew Turner, ViewLondon	RUNTIME: 2 hrs.
Visit:www.screenit.com for complete details		Movie Mood: Exhilarated

If I were given only three words to say about Slumdog Millionaire, they would be: GO. SEE. IT. If I were granted a fourth, I would say NOW (mostly because it’s a limited release which will only be available on the big screen, where it can best be appreciated, for a short while longer).

Slumdog Millionaire is not just a movie; it’s a sensory experience. From the pulsating Indian soundtrack to the often over-saturated colors, to the olfactory gross-out factor of 10 out of 10 in one scene involving a crude outhouse and the disgusting experience our protagonist will endure in order to get the autograph of an Indian film hero, the movie blasts you from practically every angle and refuses to let up until the exuberant dance sequence at the end.

"Ummm…I’m sorry. Did you say 'dance sequence?'" Uh huh. It’s an Indian film (Indian actors, in any case) after all, and they love their Bollywood.

So what is SLUMDOG about? Well, the title says quite a bit, really. It’s about a “slumdog”—the Indian term for an impoverished street child—who is on the verge of becoming a fabulously wealthy on India’s apparently wildly popular rendition of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”

If you know anything about Picky Flicks, you might have been surprised to see Slumdog's R rating. It’s not that my mission is to never post R rated movies, but it is to avoid gratuitous, offensive content, and many R rated movies are rife with that by nature. Slumdog is different, although it isn’t entirely devoid of objectionable content, and I encourage you to check out the content box to see what the film does have (especially since I think it’s much too raw for children).

A great deal of the film’s intensity comes from its depictions of a ruthless culture and the adversities that our protagonist must face simply to stay alive in it. It’s a wonder, considering the sentence I just wrote, that the film manages to be as entertaining and optimistic as it does. It’s part of what makes Slumdog such a ripping good yarn. It has it all: heartache, loss, love, agony, ecstasy, suspense, fantasy, the list goes on. It’s like the Indian version of The Princess Bride. : )

When the film begins, our protag, Jamal Malik, is one question away from winning the game show’s 20,000,000 rupees and becoming a national hero, but there’s some doubt as to whether he’ll actually be able to appear on the show for the last question seeing as how the police are questioning him on suspicion of fraud. Basically, they’re convinced he’s cheating. How else could an uneducated know-nothing like Jamal answer so many questions correctly in a row?

In an American movie, the police who are torturing (yes, torturing) Jamal for the information would be portrayed as monsters. But that’s not the case here. They’re just doing their job, and this is how things are done here. It might not be right, but it is what it is. Slumdog is equal parts fairytale, tragedy, and enlightening cultural experience. Witnessing the abject poverty and the heaps of trash and filth lying about ripening horribly in the sun made me both ashamed of my indulgences and undeniably grateful for a society that still cares a little about the poor and the needy...or is, at least, commercial enough not to allow putrid junk to stagnate in the streets.

As the film flashes back throughout Jamal’s young life, often giving us insight into how he happened to know the answer to each question, we root for him to survive, and not only that, but to thrive. Although his older brother, Salim, is a scoundrel who is predisposed to deceit and greed from an early age, Jamal is sweet-natured and winsome. His driving force is his love for a girl his age named Latika, whom he loses and tracks down repeatedly throughout the film. His devotion is touching, and their love story centers and softens what could have otherwise been an incredibly bleak narrative.

There are numerous points in the film that ask you to willingly suspend your disbelief, but the theme of destiny (the Indian phrase repeatedly used to convey this in the film is: “It is written”) handily glosses over the harder to swallow coincidences by insisting that Jamal is meant to win and to have a better life.

So, will it happen? And if it does, will fame and fortune lead him down a road of destruction? Ah, those are the 20,000,000 rupee (or whatever exorbitant price your movie theater charges you) questions. And I would be cheating if I answered them for you.

Just in case you didn’t catch what I first said about Slumdog Millionaire, let me repeat myself: GO. SEE. IT. NOW. You won’t be disappointed.

Until next Wednesday, stay picky. Your mind will thank you later.