When I happened to see this movie, my friend said it seemed good, so we went into the cinema and came out feeling confident. It can be said that among all the movies I have seen (I have seen many, many), except red river valley and Vengeance V, few can compare with them. When I got home, I found that many people on the Internet actually classified it as a romantic film or even a fairy tale. As for those who don't know what's good, don't mention it. Although I haven't seen the trailer or the story outline in advance, what I saw from beginning to end was social realism. This is a film about society, and everything else is just appearances, techniques and very clever techniques.
Critics of Slumdog Millionaire know from the beginning that there is no suspense at the end, which reminds me of a dialogue in Kung Fu Panda:
-"I don't understand a word!"
-"that's because you are not focused!"
It doesn't matter whether Jamal can finally get 2 million yuan by answering the question correctly. It is necessary for Jamal and Latikka to finally come together. If you are looking for suspense on these two questions, then you are looking in the wrong direction. Not because this is just another old Hollywood/Bollywood happy ending, but because in this movie, the process is really more important than the result.
Is it easy to win the million-dollar prize? "Professors, doctors and lawyers rarely pass the 16000 mark", but Jamal's problems are not difficult: India's most popular actor, Hindu god, India's national motto ("Only the truth will win"), India's "famous poet", pop folk song author and so on. Seeing this, you should know that this program is just an introduction. What the writer/screenwriter really wants to tell is the story behind the problem, which is the gap between the rich and the poor, class contradictions and religious conflicts in India. It is a slum in a big garbage dump, a dirty Ganges, a begging group that abuses children, a violent red light district, a corrupt policeman, and an orphan who grew up in this environment. The greatness of this film lies in its vision. If you regard it as a story of a poor boy's unexpected harvest, or a love story of a poor boy, it is tantamount to buying a gift and returning pearls.
What impressed me in particular was the ingenious thinking of the screenwriter (or the credit of the original author). This story is really Dickens' style. Orphans, poverty, crime, these elements are all there, and an era can start with one person. Especially suitable for film expression, the story intercepts the protagonist's life fragments in the form of questions and answers, rather than continuous narration, making the theme more prominent. Ten years later, Titanic is remembered more for the earth-shattering love between Jack and Ross than for how the legendary "immortal ship" sank on its maiden voyage. And this "Slumdog Millionaire", I believe that there will be more audiences in slums and garbage dumps.
Every detail can reflect many things, just like society itself. Only truth can win, and Jamal cannot answer money, fashion or lies. He has no education, nor has he been instilled with the so-called national motto. If we understand it according to his personal experience, he really doesn't know which of these things is king. Rich underworld bosses, famous actors and beggars who pretend to be good people but are blind children are all doing well. Where is the truth? When the police officer who interrogated him said, "My five-year-old daughter can answer this question," Jamal asked him two questions. A five-year-old kid in a slum could answer it, but the police officer couldn't. This is the difference between the rich and the poor, different education, different food, different places to go ... The opening scene of the police interrogation of Jamal reminds us of all kinds of abuse and torture related to Iraq. The police officer said, "There are many robbers, rapists, swindlers and blackmailers waiting for me to catch. Please confess quickly, which will save us time. " But from beginning to end, we only saw the police chasing poor children playing on private land, beating orphans soliciting in the Taj Mahal, and turning a blind eye to those who set fire to the car to play cards. We also saw white cars shuttling among the poor in Mumbai's narrow hutongs, burned slums and high-rise buildings. We can see too much with our hearts. The whole social picture of India is presented to us, and an Latikka is nothing. People who only read love stories are selectively blind.
Some people say that Salim is too cunning and Jamal is too naive. I think the more accurate description is "opportunist" and "idealist". Salim is really an interesting person. He can be loyal to his brother in do or die or betray him openly at other times. He can be a tiger for money, or he can suddenly realize that he died with the bad guys in the pile of money he pursued all his life. I don't like him, but I have to admit that he has a very strong viability. Jamal might not be alive today without him. In that kind of social environment, Salim is a very representative figure, and most of the people naturally selected by the survival of the fittest are like him, which explains why we see the society and the possibility of a vicious circle.
Jamal is an idealist through and through. He is kind and persistent, and never gives up on Latikka. When Salim was counting money on the train, Jamal's mind was full of Latikka, and the brothers' outlook on life was clear at a glance. Actor Dev Patel is only 18 years old in reality. Some people say Jamal looks too thin and dances with long hands and feet. But what does it matter? Although the appearance is weak, but the will is extremely strong. At the beginning of the interrogation, the fat policeman reported that he had been interrogated all night and asked nothing but his name-"He is a tough guy." When his officer said, "What can a dog in a slum know?", Jamal, who was electrocuted behind, vomited an one-mouthful blood: "Answer." I'm impressed. Jamal Malik, 18 years old, is particularly sexy because of her strength. If this movie is a fairy tale, it must be because Jamal's almost impossible persistence and persistence, not the bizarre love story of the hero and heroine. Jamal of "Truth Will Win". I can't choose, but his life story perfectly explains this sentence. If Salim is the representative of that society, Jamal is the spiritual symbol of the Indian people, which explains why Jamal's innocence, kindness and idealism are taken for granted, and why people will be excited and cheered for Jamal after winning the grand prize.
Why not a love fairy tale? I'm sorry that I have to analyze the feelings of the hero and heroine from a secular perspective, but I never believe that a person must be another person all his life, unless the meaning of that person rises to another height. Jamal's idealism in that social environment means that he always needs a spiritual sustenance. When I was young, I was a star. Jamal can jump into the cesspit and sign it. After the death of his mother, Jamal and his brother have been living a wandering life. The brotherhood is not a simple friendship, but a love-hate relationship. His only friend and the only good thing in his life is Latikka. Even though Jamal has been separated for many years, he will never forget Latikka, because finding her is the main meaning and reason of his life. So I think this kind of unrealistic persistence similar to obsessive-compulsive disorder is actually possible and has practical significance, not a fairy tale. Some people say that freida pinto is so beautiful, I quite agree. Jamal thinks that Latikka is the most beautiful woman in the world, and Pinto is similar; If Latikka were not so beautiful, it would better reflect her spiritual significance to Jamal.
I don't care at all whether Jamal finally wins the grand prize (from the movie title, I think he is likely to win, but who cares), and I'm not worried that Jamal can't find Latikka, but I do worry about one thing: will something happen when Latikka finally goes to Jamal? That is, will this story end in comedy or tragedy? But my worry only lasted for a second. What happened to Jamal and Latikka is the experience of a country, their struggle is the struggle of a society, and their prospect is also the hope of a nation. After recording India's past and present, this film will certainly bring hope to the future.
The music in this movie is very good! Although I don't regard it as a love fairy tale, I still cried when Jamal's kiss gently landed on the scar on Latikka's face.