It's no 'Dog'

Sometimes you just want to see a good movie: you don’t want to feel the film looking down upon your intelligence over its rimless glasses and grinning with pretentious delight, and you don’t want to see another eye-roll-ing-ly predictable chick flick or an oh-too-simple-blow-‘em-up movie, you just want to watch a good movie.

Slumdog Millionaire satisfies this need. After winning a Golden Globe, this low-budget film is probably showing at a movie theater somewhere near you (well at least semi-near you). And you should take advantage of the film’s new popularity. Indulge your entertainment desires and see it!!

Although Peter Bradshaw of the Guardian claims that the film is “overpraised,” I came out of the movie theater with a smile on my face and a semi-sweet joy pulsating throughout my body. I have not seen every movie of 2008, but I am fairly confident when I claim that this film is the best film of 2008. Exceptional acting and beautiful cinematography help to tell a story that balances bitter life in the slums with reflections of unflagging love.

The film captures the real slums of India and these scenes pull on the viewer’s heartstrings while providing a shallow underlying social commentary on poverty, but this social commentary and the sadness of life in the slums is not overwhelming; the sadness is balanced by the love story that stretches throughout the film.

The love story between Jamal and Latika is the emotional force that drives the movie and the characters themselves. Slumdog’s love story is not a Hollywood boy-meets-girl. The love is true, deep and meaningful; it remains despite distance, time, and the hardship of life in the slums.

At the end of the movie you might just have a smile on your face (so worth the $10 ticket!).