Personal Reflection on SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE 2008
The movie represent the story of an 18 year-old Jamal Malik, an orphan from Mumbai slams who is about to experience a very big event of his life. He has only one question to answer so as to win 20 million rupees while the whole nation is watching. However, he is arrested by the police when the shows starts who suspect him of cheating. Jamal is desperate to prove his innocence and thus tells the story of how together with his brother, grew up in the slums, the adventures they had on the road , encounters with neighbourhood gangs and about Latika the girl he loved but lost. Each chapter of the story is a revelation of how Jamal learnt the answers to the questions on the show which seems quite impossible.
The movie uses state-of-the-art techniques and tools to present a third world account that shows the difficult lives its characters have to endure and at the same time provides the audiences with a happy ending. It represents Jamal as young man with a dream and his dream finally comes true. The movie also goes a long way to create an actual plot where it shows the popularity of reality shows. In a real world, such reality shows depend on audiences’ emotional investment as they wish to watch a person of their status be transformed into a successful actor. The plot of the movie is very simple. Each moment a new question is asked by the Millionaire’s host, Jamal is shown having a flashback. Then the flashback provides clues to Jamal while at the same time providing the audience of the film with another encounter of the story of his life (Helmi, 29). The movie could have been quite short were it not for Jamal’s ability to continue playing. For instance, on the question about the face seen on America dollar bill, the host is sure of nobody knowing the answer to the quiz and is astonished to hear Jamal say ‘Benjamin Franklin’. The moment Prem- the host- agrees with Jamal’s answer the viewer is bombarded with a victorious cinematic moment shown with flashing lights and the right sound effects. The movie appropriately presents onscreen audiences’ joy arising from Jamal knowing the answer which gives him an opportunity to keep playing for bigger stakes.
The movie represents the various actors with different personalities such that the viewer can know who is who in each scene. From the beginning Jamal appears resourceful, Salim is aggressive and Latika is seen to be resilient. By starting the movie Jamal against Prem, the writer gives it a big narrative advantage where even with their nearly insurmountable odds the kids are facing, the viewer already knows the kids will survive. In the scene where Jamal is hanging with hands tied to a rope, the cinematography is much disarranged with angles that are tilted most likely to show how disorganised life is in a real world. The writer has managed to make every scene to look real in areas where he is trying to present a moment of joy or where he depicts the pain associated with poverty and homelessness thus capturing the emotions of the viewer. The only bit that appears sort of a weakness is love story between Jamal and Lakita which is more of a fairy tale. The movie is however a good representation of a life in real world.
Works cited
HELMI, FAHMI.A Revelation of Danny Boyle’s Worldview on Slumdog Millionaire.2009.20-35. Available at: http://repository.uinjkt.ac.id/dspace/bitstream/123456789/19937/1/HELMI%20FAHMI-FAH.pdf
