“Slumdog Millionaire” will make you think about life, hope, and love.
As the story unfolds you will experience youth from the perspective of children growing up in a culture of poverty, religious intolerance, and gangs. Slumdog presents a somewhat tragic tale of two brothers and a girl who survive a religious massacre, hunger and poverty, the uncertainty of who to trust, and the bias of a socially stratified society. Despite hardship and the loss of family we see the strength of human connections through friendship and love. In the end happiness is proven to be grounded in loyalty to your family and an unbreakable bond of friendship and love.
I found the visuals of the tent cities in India and children rumaging through mountains of trash in a landfill juxtaposed to a city skyline populated by skyscrapers filled with condos and apartments for the wealthy to be compelling. I considered how Americans argue over seats in a movie theater or impatiently honk the horns of their shiny sport utility vehicle. Even though the story of “Slumdog Millionaire” is designed to entertain, I could not help but think how different and isolated our life experience can be. Pair this perspective with the role envisioned for America by President Obama in his inaugural speech: we can no longer stand idly by and watch what unfolds on the global stage.
I love movies that make me think. “Slumdog Millionaire” had a great story, memorable characters, and multiple thought provoking messages. It is one of the best movies I have seen in the past six months.
