by Sam Juliano
Filled with visceral audacity, narrative daring and operatic intensity, Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire takes its rightful bows as the most deliriously entertaining film of the year. It’s a saga of adversity and danger and soaring passions, all transcribed in a steaming tapestry of a culture affected by the excitement and competition of Westernized mores turned upside-down and inside-out. Indeed, some of the most abhorrent criminal traditions in the West are given a distinctly Indian slant, but the motivations are distinctly the same. But Slumdog Millionaire’s nonpareil appeal lies with it’s overriding feel-good story that would move people in any culture, in any context, at any time. It’s the story of the little guy making good, and of the forces of adversity losing a battle of a single shining moment that makes everyone want to get out of their seats and cheer. (more…)