Slumdog Millionaire

This post will be a little digression from the “Library.” Last week I was fortunate enough to attend an advanced screening of “Slumdog Millionaire” which was followed by a Q&A by the director, Danny Boyle. Danny Boyle directed “28 Days” and “Trainspotting,” the latter I honestly couldn’t watch after 20 minutes. I never heard of the movie before and from reading the descriptions online I wasn’t sure what to expect. The movie is based on a book, Q&A: A Novel by Vikas Swarup, an Indian Diplomat and this happens to be his first book. So I guess the movie being based on a book does have something in common with the library. The synopsis sounded pretty weak to be a full length movie to me: a boy from the slum is close to winning the millionaire prize on India’s version of, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” It has already won an award from the Toronto International Film Festival. It has a 100% rating on RottenTomatoes.com. So needless to say, I did have high expectations going into the theater.

All of my expectations were greatly exceeded. This is a top notch movie! Sure, it may not have any well-known actors or actresses but everyone has to start somewhere and this is one huge jumpstart. The movie is wonderfully directed. This is an original movie and there has never been anything like this before. The way it explains how the main character knows the answers on the game show is superb. I could literally run out of positive adjectives to describe this film. I have recommended this movie to everyone who will listen and I do the same to you. It is going to be released in the U.S. November 12^th. The Q&A was also a unique aspect to the sneak preview. Not only was I able to hear firsthand what it was the director was thinking about the movie but I also was able to get his autograph.