Hey folks, Valkor here. And I welcome you to TOV's "30 in 30",
where I'll review 30 unique film and maybe some not so unique,
all in 30 days. What's cool for most of the flicks, is that I
know nothing about em. So this should be a real treat not just
for you guys, but for me as well. Good or bad, this is gonna be
a fun month. It all starts today July the 4th and ends on Aug
the 3rd. Can I make it through? We'll know soon enough!
For part 17 of TOV, we take you into the land of India, where I get to view a film, I should have watched a long time ago, "SLumdog Millionaire.
Slumdog Millionaire is a film I've longed to see, but due to the piles of vids that I have to watch, I simply never got around to it. Finally, I got to see what all the hype is about. Slumdog tells the tale of Jamal (Dev Patel), a boy who grew up in poverty, now in the hot seat of the hit show, the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". And he's doing a great job with only a few questions away from some serious big money. When the show breaks for the day, Jamal is arrested, tortured, and interrogated because he is believed to be cheating. This leads us into Jamal's past and how, coincidently, all the questions that were asked were linked to those past instances. The film is ultimately a love story as Jamal is using the show not just as a means to earn some serious cash, but to also find the love of his life Latika (Freida Pinto). But standing in his way is an adversary/slash brother Salim (Madhur Mittal), who has taken to a life of crime, teaming up with one of India's top mob bosses. Can Jamal win back his love, possibly save his brother, and win it all? For that you'll have to see the film, because, just as I've been told – it is a must see!
I just want to point out that the roles of Jamal, Latika, and Salim were played by multiple characters reflecting different ages of their lives. But I'm only mentioning the older set as they stand out the most. And now, on with the TOV Breakdown.
The Good:
Wow! Just WOW!! This is only my second time watching a film from Bollywood (The first is, Salaam Bombay; another film that revolves around India's slums), and again I am won over. Slumdog Millionaire is an awesome film that gives a look into the world of what it must be like to grow up in India's slums (definitely survival of the fittest), tossing in an amazing love story that spans over time, mixing up with some serious conflict and ending with redemption. I enjoyed every minute of it! The actors, everyone, deserves credit for bringing their A-game to the table; I don't believe there's one bad performance in the entire film. But if I had to choose anyone as a standout, then definitely Dev Patel; he does some great work with all he has to do. He has the look that you wanna take pity on him and hope that he gets through it all unscathed. Freida Pinto is PerfectView all over; too bad India has a thing about nudes, or we'd possibly get a boob shot or two. Pacing is on the money as the film flows at a brisk paced, keeping you on your toes by tossing in some drama or action. Finally the ending music video; I'm not the biggest fan of Indian music, but "Jai Ho" has earned a spot in my music rotation and the dance number is just so much fun to watch; it kind makes you wish you can be there with them and join in the celebration. And they have every reason to celebrate because, once again, Slumdog Millionaire is an awesome film!
The Bad:
Those kids were actually from the slums, and when it was all over, they were sent back. But I hope life has gotten better for them since their return. (Last I heard the dad of the girl was trying to sell her off).
The Ugly:
Watching young Jamal jump into a pool of… well… just see the movie!
There's good reason why Slumdog Millionaire took home 8 Oscars and countless other awards; Having not seen the film previously, I didn't get it, but now that I've watched it, I can say first off it's an instant classic, second it's a must see, and finally you'll want to see it again and again as it not only does the film grab you, it never lets go. Out of TOV 5 stars, I give Slumdog Millionaire 5 star perfect score, and it's been Valkor tested, TOV Approved!