BY KIREZ REYNOLDS
In the depths of poverty and despair, the light of human intelligence and integrity can still shine brightly, cheerfully defying the odds. Welcome to the premise of ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’
Perhaps you are one of the ten people who didn’t see Slumdog Millionaire. Maybe you felt wary of a feel-good movie about poor Indian street urchins. Fortunately, the movie is not about altruistic pathos.
Slumdog Millionaire is brilliant. It achieves a remarkable effect with an imperceptibly light touch: a bright, life-affirming sense of life, in an ugly, gritty world and amidst the harrowing conflicts the protagonist confronts. There is serious ugliness in the movie, but the overall atmosphere achieves lightness and love within the gravity and suspense. Perhaps similar can be said of Life Is Beautiful and Amelie.