Slumdog Millionaire

A naive, clichéd and predictable fairy tale about how a poor boy came to happiness. Boyle's film captivates with the sweeping realities of contemporary, overpopulated India, but otherwise has little else to offer. The childhood scenes are excellent, full of life and filmmaking passion, but the rest follows the same routine as many other films, without a hint of surprise, suspense or believable emotions. Bollywood came to Hollywood with a bang and everyone sat on their asses. Not me, though, sorry. (02/03/2009)

A cleverly told fairy tale about a) luck, b) faith, c) life, d) Who Wants to be a Millionaire, which can catch a person’s attention even though they don’t particularly like this kind of sob story. This is a story about a tiny squirt Jamal whose life led him on the journey of answers, which Danny Boyle managed to capture to the very last detail. He managed beautifully to portray the ludicrousness of the civilized world, where, for instance, after one drastic scene from childhood, the show host cracks a cheap joke. The actors are well cast too, both the small ones, and Dev Patel himself, with the beautiful Frida Pinto. P.S.: Did you notice those questions aimed at an English-speaking audience at the end of the contest? (03/21/2009)

A charming film with an amazing atmosphere that warms the heart and caresses the soul. I don’t think the comparisons with City of God are that appropriate, even though they are logical. Whereas City of God is a cold and cumbersome construct without personality, Slumdog Millionaire is a warm, viewer friendly and, above all, brisk fairytale that doesn’t have any big message, but it’s all the more honest because of that. Danny Boyle has proven many times that he’s a visual wizard, but now he delivers a perfect fusion of images and music. Basically, in every scene with an important song all I could do was watch the screen with admiration and amazement – so many ideas and tricks is not something you see every day. I don’t think it’s a worthy best film of the year, but the direction really does deserve an award. (12/30/2008)

Inexact celluloid carousel of life. Crime, fate, tension and personal drama. And above all, a cautious love story, which is precisely the decisive factor that separates Millionaire from other biographical stories. Accompanied by a soundtrack on the verge of dynamic Boyle style and a fascinating orchestra, it becomes clear that the audience needs "human stories". Thank goodness for that. (12/30/2008)

A Brit-Bollywood remake of the Czech fairytale movie O chytrém Honzovi (= Clever Jack). This could be called Clever Jamal or How a Poor Guy with Common Sense Found Happiness and it is extremely good and enlightening. But didn’t it bend the truth whenever it could (mainly in the live transmissions) for the crude purpose of wringing your heart strings? Yes, but who cares in a fairytale, huh kids? P.S.: And isn’t the book better than the movie? No, it’s not. Because Swarup’s work is something completely different. Some black humor, cynicism and a message that is the exact opposite of Boyle’s ever so sweet, naive candy cane. And I like that kind of thing more than fairytales... (01/05/2009)