SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

MPAA Rating: R for some violence, disturbing images and language.
Run time: 120 min

The five stars review and accolades of awards for this film turns me on. I expect some sort of magic or some reviewer said "triumph" of cinema. And Slumdog triumph at Oscar too with 10 nominations, so I am thrilled before I see it. I expect some kind of Atonement, Gandhi, Gladiator, Crash or even No Country for Old Men. So, good reviews with tons of awards seems a fine turn on right?

It turns out for me that Slumdog wasn't as triumphant as I thought it would be (three stars is enough for this film). It is okay but it is not as thought provoking as Revolutionary Road or as tight gripping as Frost/Nixon, even as melancholic as Benjamin Button. In fact, in general it looks cheesy and and well, wafer thin.

I wonder why reviewers in the states are so head over heels for this film, as for me, the praise is just too much. Perhaps it is cultural differences. For people who lived in Europe or United States, seeing some third world country slum with densely populated housing, rotten sewage and dirty streets plus the people inside it is something exotic or unique. As for me, the one who lives in Indonesia, such slums is reality I see and smell everyday, so there's nothing special about it. It is not that I didn't sympathize with slums but if you seen it everyday, then it is not special at all. This is added by the fact that I have seen countless Bollywood films, so the name of Anil Kapoor and Amitabh Bhachan is nothing strange to my ears, even the dance sequence is very familiar (and expected) to me.

Sure, some scenes are breathless but even from the first minute, I already know that Slumdog will end in a happy manner since hints are almost everywhere. Not much of a surprise eh?

Jamal is an orphan from the slums of Mumbai who is born into a brutal world and he has to survive all by his own by improvising almost anything. He is an Indian Oliver Twist, high-spirited and see life as something optimistic.

Played as a teenager by Dev Patel, Jamal is the contestant of Indian version of Who Wants to be A Millionaire? It turns out that he can answer all of the questions. Of course, the anchor of the show (the famous Anil Kapoor) suspect Jamal of cheating, throws him into the hands of brutal cops.

The cops interrogating him badly and by a series of flashbacks, we know why he can answer the question correctly, it is from his life experience. Oh yeah, have I forgot to mention that Jamal is desperately wants to see a girl he has known since he was a child? That one has predictability rate of 10 out of 10.

Somehow I am startled by the fact that this film was made by the same director who use to tell stories about decapitating zombies. But he's also the one who made Millions so bizarre amount of cheesiness is predictable.

As for me, it is an okay film, not award material but something that can make you smile as an escape, but it doesn't make you think hard about the meaning of life since it is just some Indian Oliver Twist tale where in the end, the boy gets the girl. Add extra 60 minutes and another 5 songs and dances, than it is just another Bollywood movie. Oh have I mention that I have seen so many Bollywood films?