We Are All Slumdogs

Back in November, I was introduced to a little-known film from Fox Searchlight. Much of it was in Hindi, it had a strange title, no known stars, and a very modest budget for Hollywood standards. The film's original distributor, Warner Independent, had been shuttered by its parent company. For a time, the film was an orphan and its future was in limbo.

But, its destiny was written...

I could feel a strange electricity in the air. Thirty minutes prior to Boyle's Q&A that night, Producer Christian Colson, ducked into the theatre to watch the film's climatic ending. He'd seen the film countless times, but he said he never tired of it. A few minutes later, I met Danny Boyle. I was instantly sucked in by his untiring enthusiasm and the glimmer in his eyes as he discussed the experience of making what was to become my favorite film of the year: Slumdog Millionaire.

Like a bicyclist, Slumdog Millionaire has slowly but surely gained on its competitors in the Oscars race. I've heard that visiting India is an experience of overwhelming proportions. It has a cultural richness that few other places on Earth can offer. But you must be willing to accept India for all that it is-- its light and its dark. Slumdog Millionaire has been criticized as being "poverty porn" and/or "slum voyeurism" and parents of the slum kids have come forward to say that their children were not paid their due, especially considering the success of the film.*

Success rarely comes without controversy.

Boycott the film and you'll be missing out. Like India, you have to embrace Slumdog Millionaire for what it is, love it for all its dark and all its light, and embrace it like a person--like yourself. In a sense, we are all slumdogs trying to get by in this mess of a world we live in. Like Jamal, we all have the capacity to write our own destinies, regardless of our circumstances.

In the land that is India, there is poverty and torture, grit and grime, but there is also color and beauty, love and passion, dance and rhythm. Light and dark: one cannot exist without the other. Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire exposes both.

Notes:

*The children depicting young Jamal and Latika in the film are now attending school at the expense of the filmmakers. According to Mr. Boyle and the film's producer Christian Colson,"financial resources have been made available for their education until they are 18." When they finish their schooling, they will receive further payment from a trust fund. To me, this was the best way to approach the sensitive subject of how to compensate these children. A large sum of money now would quickly evaporate, but an investment in their education will last forever and pave the way for future success.

*In Boyle's previous film, Millions (2004) production donated money to Water Aid, to build a well in Africa (like the family did in the film). (imdb/trivia)

*Among many other places in this world, I hope to one day visit India and my wish is that the place, the real place, is as invigorating and intoxicating as I imagine it to be.

2009 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS: SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

From The Mouths Of Movie-goers...

As a writer, I often observe and listen.  Secretly, I've always wanted to be a spy.  If I were a true spy, however,  I wouldn't be able to tell anyone that I was a spy and what fun is there in that?[unless I get to play-act in my own rendition of Burn After Reading.] So, instead I'm an eavesdropper, sometimes a sleuth, and a writer.  

Quite often, I get to listen and observe moviegoers.  Here in L.A., there are people with clipboards that watch audience reactions to previews and movies and then they jot down little notes-- where the laughs were, what sequences fell flat, if a preview worked or flopped, and the demographics of the people sitting in the seats: age, race, gender.... In a sense, they're movie spies and [not surprisingly]  they're employed by the studios.  

I also enjoy watching several audiences and noting how they react to the same movie.  What I've learned is that it's true what they say: Every single audience is different.  A movie like Four Christmases that makes one woman howl with laughter may be only mildly amusing to the couple sitting in the next showing.

When it comes to a movie being a success or a flop, moviegoers have more clout than they get credit for-- [sorry critics.]  

Here are a few reactions and/or things I've overheard about some of the biggest films this year:

On Rachel Getting Married:

" It's too shaky... I can't take it.  How can they even call that a movie?"

(From a forty-something who needed a glass of ice water to get over her Rachel-induced motion sickness)

"Now, that's the kind of wedding I'd like to have!"

(One twenty-something girl to another upon exiting the theatre.)

On Towelhead:

Upon exiting the theatre:  Silence.

On Synedoche, New York

"What's with that burning house?"

( A question posed to Charlie Kaufman at a Q&A at Arclight Hollywood.  Kaufman skirted the question brilliantly and answered exactly: Nothing.)

"It's so depressing... I want to shoot myself."

(A thirty-something guy talking to his buddy.)

The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button

(not released yet)

"I think it'll capture peoples' attention with its sentimentality... and it'll garner award noms, no doubt.  Brad Pitt's a shoe-in.

( An unidentified Nielsen employee)

"THIS is a job..."

( The courier lugging Benjamin Button's many, many reels after the theatre's elevator went out) 

Note: Benjamin Button has a run-time of 2 hours and 55 minutes and David Fincher is probably still working on his director's cut which could very well have a run time double that!

Slumdog Millionaire

"I've seen the ending so many times, but I'm gonna go watch it again..."

(A studio publicity person at a Q&A screening with Danny Boyle.)

"Where can I get the soundtrack to Slumdog?"

(An out-of-breath woman in the theatre gift shop.)

"That is how movies are supposed to be."

(An older gentleman to his friend after exiting a late-night screening.)

Observation:  Two Indian women in the middle of the theatre crying softly as Jamal and Latika reunite.  They stay for the entire credits and walk out of the theatre slowly... in utter silence.

"Slumdog's got a chance for Best Picture.  This is a good year for it..."

(Me)

On Milk

"I wasn't interested in the subject matter at first, but when I saw it, Sean Penn pulled me in.  His performance was outstanding.  It's easily one of the best films of the year..."

(An unidentified Nielsen employee at a test screening for an upcoming film.)