slummin’

You’ve heard of Slumdog Millionaire by now, of course, if for no other reason than because it has the best movie title in recent history. After hearing about it from friends and watching it sweep the Golden Globes, Bryan and I knew we wanted to go. And friends, I am actually going to let this years LAMEST Golden Globes ever (as far as the actual show went, I mean.  Didn’t everyone seem to be phoning it in?  I kept having to remind myself to pay attention) off the hook since it proved to be the thing that got us to the movies this weekend.

I adored this movie for so many reasons (and if you haven’t seen it and you’re afraid I’m going to say too much, I’m going to try not to, but I can’t promise anything…) not the least of which is that it was so enchanting that I fell for a story based on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Who knew there was even such a thing? Or that I would want to spend any amount of time in its presence?

There’s also the joy of seeing an actor, completely new to me, be brilliant in his role; the music – oh, the music; the way the slums of India are presented as both horrifyingly dirty and stunningly beautiful. What a gift, to be swept away into a place and culture I will likely never experience face to face.

This is storytelling at it’s best, when the writing and directing and editing all add up to a perfectly unfolding narrative, where the tension never lets up, where the tellers count on your intelligence and know that you will pay attention.  Where you care what happens.

We liked it so much that we read the wikipedia entry all the way home – where we learned that much of the movie’s success has come from strong word-of-mouth.  So that’s really my goal here; to add my voice to the crowd.  Go see this movie.

You can thank me later.