Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Release date: 2008-12-25
Country: UK|India
Language: English|Hindi|French|German
Director: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan (co-director)
Production Co: Celador Films, Film4, Warner Bros.
Genre: Romance, Drama
Rating: 8.0/10
Length: 2h

Storyline

The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's Kaun Banega Crorepati? (2000) (Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?) But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions. Each chapter of Jamal's increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show's seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no apparent desire for riches really ...

Plot Keywords

india, prostitute, television show, falling from height, told in flashback, rags to riches, interrogation, underdog, based on novel, murder, railway station, organized crime, torture, tour guide, tourist, nonlinear timeline, snorricam, bag over head, blindness, burned alive

Short Review

Slumdog Millionaire is an exhilarating ride -- a feel-good yarn about a Mumbai street kid directed by Danny Boyle with a wild energy that makes even Trainspotting (Boyle's calling card) look leaden-footed.