Brotherly Love

Slumdog Millionaire-Dev Patel, Madhur Mittal, Freida Pinto





Director-Danny Boyle





SEE!





It's hard to find humor in the movie theater this time of year. At least, it's hard to write about it. Sure I could go see Four Christmases but I actually like humor to surprise me. Sometimes I can go see a serious movie and laugh more than I would in a comedy. That didn't happen in this movie but I sure did smile a lot because it's just a smart film. Here we find a very clever telling of the story of a hard-luck Muslim kid, Jamal, who comes within one question of winning India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire before he is accused of cheating . (Because, as we all know, a poor kid from the slums, raised by a single woman, can't amount to anything especially if he has a Muslim name. Hmmm. This sounds familiar.) Moving on. Along the way, as Jamal demonstrates that answering game show questions isn't as hard as everybody imagines, we follow the tragic tale of love, poverty, savagery, family and hope.





And let me just pause here to say that Danny Boyle knows how to tell a story. Some of the other Oscar-bait movies of the season should take note. It's true that I had no plans to go to Mumbai before the recent bombings (and I'm sure not many Indians plan to visit L.A.), but what really struck me about this movie are the subtle and not so subtle digs at Western tourists (witness our precious bottled water being fished out of a "recycling" can, filled with tap water and served to...well...poor, stupid us.) Watching more from the perspective of native Indian orphans struggling to survive, you'll find that you side with the thieves, beggars and underpaid restaurant workers. That is a sign of directorial prowess and a strong screenplay, my friends. Hell, I'll drink your recycled water in a dirty bottle because your story is just that compelling. (Well, maybe not.)





Now what interests me more than the fleecing of unsuspecting tourists is the fact that across all cultural borders-a thug is a thug is a thug. Our hero's brother (whose twisted brand of filial love keeps our hero alive for better or for worse) is born with the cold resolve that permits him to, quite cruelly, abandon the girl Jamal loves because she might slow the brothers quest for survival down or, worse yet, come between them. You may think that makes Jamal better that his cold-hearted brother but, the fact is, one couldn't exist without the other. Jamal would most certainly be dead without the brutal street-wise ways of his gangster brother and everything his brother does is to protect Jamal-his mother's last request. This movie is marketed as a story of everlasting love that triumphs against all obstacles. Really, it's a story of love, hate and sacrifice between two brothers dumped into a callous world. In any case, it's a story worth seeing.





EAT.





Jamal is a "chai-runner" in a mobile phone company. Something tells me that's not as easy as going out for Starbucks but I could be wrong. Sure you could get chai tea latte at your neighborhood Starbucks or at the Starbucks across the street from your neighborhood Starbucks but it ain't the real deal. In honor of the chai-runner millionaire that we all dream of becoming, serve yourself a real Indian chai. Don't ask me how to become a millionaire. Visit www.indonique.com/chais.





SHOP.





Just as the end credits rolled I was thinking, "What this movie lacks is one of those absurd Bollywood musical scenes." Lo and behold, there it was. Think "Thriller" but Indian style and, oh yeah, you've got the picture now. This movie just has a little bit of everything. For the true Bollywood musical experience shop http://www.bollywoodstepdance.com/. Apparently classes are coming soon. You heard me. Maybe, you too, will be inspired to dance your way through a train station. Or, that may just be an Indian thing.