Who wants to be a "Slumdog Millionaire"? At the nanosecond Danny Boyle's dynamic and Dickensian tale of the great expectations of a Mumbai street kid is the front-runner to sweep the Oscars. But critics, some of them in Slumdog's backyard, are sticking out their legs in efforts to trip up the film in its final laps toward the finish line. The critics are getting rabid about "Slumdog."
Most impassioned is Dennis Lim's consideration, which wonders to what extent the romance set against the backdrop of the Mumbai slums, can be considered "poverty porn."
"A white man's imagined India", complains a professor from India.
And then there's the grassroots campaign on behalf of Loveleen Tandan, the film's assistant director, to share the director's glory if the film wins an Oscar for its filmmaker.
I very much like the film, don't think it condescends to its subjects or their milieu any more than Dickens condescended to his characters, and don't think it promotes "poorism" -- as wags have tagged slumming tourists. As for Tandan, she is on the record as saying it's Boyle's film.
Your thoughts?
Hey it's a movie - not a documentary. Anyone heard of creative license? Even if it's not a spot-on representation of Mumbai, India, it has certainly opened the door of knowledge to the culture, soul, plight and beauty of that part of the world. And, I appreciated feeling uplifted and renewed once the film ended. I like feeling good. Leave it alone you killjoys.— Ellen G.- You said it, sister. Art that bears the burden of political correctness is the work of ideologues, not artists.— carrierickey
- I wondered why the indian "co-director" was not included in the awards category. Do you know of other highly acclaimed movies with the co-director or assistant director not being recognized? The movie & everyone involved in making it deserves much credit.— sandiegophillyfan
- First, this was a wonderfully sculpted film, a joy to watch, and deserving of many awards and kudos. I hope that it wins Best Picture. Second, I've never heard of an A.D. getting a Best Director Oscar; quite simply, because an A.D. is an ASSISTANT Director; regardless of whether the A.D. is caucasian or a minority. This is much ado about nothing at all. Finally, the movie did, in no way, mistreat or exploit the poor of India. Slumdog Millionaire definitely gets my vote for Best Picture.— veritas1325
- I would hope that Slumdog Millionaire wins on Oscar night. Though I found it a bit contrived, I think it is the best of the bunch that are nominated. My second choice would be The Reader which I will bet gets many votes. Did not think it exploited the poor of India but the incidents were a bit contrived to fit the story line. That being said, I liked it.....especially the sound track.— johnpolomano
- orchestrated campaign. quite malicious.— Rameshram
- I also think its despicable how the little kids that acted in the film are being drawn into the controversy. unlike brothels (a couple of years ago) these kids are actors in a fictional film. the equivalent is is Satyajit ray was sued by the family of the boy that played Apu.— Rameshram
Comment removed.- Let's just keep Benjamin Button off stage, no matter the cost!— jreese
- This may be a bit of an aside, but I recall "Black Orpheus" and my love of the film regardless of how "realistic" it was. I don't know if, at the time of its release, some criticized "Orpheus" as being white-washed/politically/economically incorrect/whatever. Carrie, do you happen to know the answer to this? I, too, could be a Bobby Bitter and say Slumdog doesn't go far enough in its portrayal of living conditions. But like Ellen G. said, that's missing the point. It's a movie and it's a joy to watch.— californiafan
- slumdog is all that(white man's imagined india etc) s shouldnt a white man imagine india? the King and I is full of cliched falsehoods about he king of siam on one hand and foreign governesses on the other. doesn't mean it is unworthy as a musical..— Rameshram
- From "Great Expectations" to "Rocky," this is a time-honored story: Underdog overcomes the odds and fulfills his dream.— carrierickey
- I loved the film, but unfortunately bought popcorn...not a popcorn movie as I quickly learned.— Chatham Bette
- "Art that bears the burden of political correctness is the work of ideologues, not artists." Thank you, Carrie! It sounds (reads) to me like Dennis Lim has something stuck in his craw. Slumdog was a beautiful movie which moved me much more with the story of Jamal and Salim than with the romance between Jamal and Latika. As for the lives of the poor being somehow sugar-coated: having never been there (the closest I ever came was Sri Lanka, which, being so near, has some of the same characteristics, but I digress), I feel underqualified to comment on that as far as its veracity. However, I was very moved by those scenes of the horrors those people endure, so whatever anyone think is or isn't "the real India", the director did his job with me. It's a great movie which deserves recognition.— pianistcomposer
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