FILM... through our EYES!!!

Slum Dog Millionaire is a movie that is set in the slums of Mumbai, India and it talks about a boy, Jamal and the circumstances surrounding his life that finally brings him to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire (WWTBAM). The movie is centered on his life and how he strives just to get the girl of his dreams, Latika. The movie is analyzed in various ways:

• Themes: there are various themes in Slum Dog Millionaire; the themes are the central idea/major idea in any movie. A major theme of Slum Dog Millionaire is Destiny of love between Jamal and Latika. From the point when it was raining and Jamal asked Latika to join them, the two of them had been destined to be together and Jamal kept searching for Latika. When they eventually escaped from Javid, Jamal wanted Latika to join them but Salim disagrees. They eventually leave Taj Mahal because Jamal wants to see Latika and Salim s angry about that. After Salim kills Javid, they escape this time with Latika. After Salim runs off with Latika, Jamal still does not give up on his search and he eventually finds her by accident even if Salim did not want him to. Jamal kept waiting at the train station at 5:30 for Latika to surface. He even went for the show, WWTBAM just because he knew Latika would be watching. The destiny idea of the film resonates throughout the film. At the beginning and end of the film, the phrase “it is written” was used and this really shows destiny. Hope- this is what kept Jamal persistent and consistent in his search for Latika was hope. He went into the show because he knew Latika would see him. Forgiveness- he forgave his brother Salim so many times after all the atrocities he committed against him. Cruel Absurdity of the real world- this is shown in Jamal, Salim and Latika’s world, one without parents who fend for themselves that they even met Mafians who used children cruelly for moneymaking. This shows that the real world is very cruel and so many evil things happen there. Even subjecting Jamal to torture because he won the show is outright cruel.

• Narratives: there are two narratives embedded into one. The first one is Jamal’s quiz show and the flashback that told his experience of the past. The amazing thing is that the two narratives are brought together to achieve a goal. The flashback embedded the second narratives. There were various expectations of the viewers in Slum Dog Millionaire like; Jamal would always get the answers to the question because he is the hero. The viewers did not expect that Salim would turn out as bad as he did. The audience expected Jamal and Latika to re-unite. They expected that Jamal would win the show. It was also expected that there would be a reaction to the death of his brother Salim.

• Emotions and Feelings: in this movie, there were feelings of pity, pain, love, sorrow, sadness, sympathy. All these were shown from the beginning of the film. For love, Jamal and Latika loved each other despite all the intervening variables they still get back together.

• Cause and Effect: the experiences that Jamal had made him to have the answers to the question. Perhaps, if his mother had not died, he would not have the experiences to answer the question. An instance of the statue of god, Rama, what it holds on its right hand. All through the film one event leads to the other.

• Similarity and Repetition: right from the point where Jamal and Latika met, when Jamal is shown the next person that is likely to be shown is Latika. There is the yellow clothing of Latika which is very consistent through the early teenage and Lady Latika. Salim always showed that courage to be valiant and tough because he demonstrated courage even in the rescue of Latika. “it is written” is shown at the beginning and the end. “Latika was shown at the train station where she was going to meet Jamal.” It was shown over and over again in that film. Also, the part that their mother died, when she was asking them to run.

• Differences and Variation: the two brothers, Salim and Jamal were two different people. The slum when it was bad and later when they made it into a large housing estate. The fact that Jamal went to the show not to win but to be seen. But he later ended up winning.

• Depth of Story Treatment: when you plunge into the psychology, images of the character. The inner thought, thinking, memories of the character. Some of these are: Jamal thinking about throwing Salim down from the high rise building (incomplete). The whole film is based on the depth of treatment. Jamal always thinking about Latika even on the show. When Jamal thinks about the questions and finds the answers from his experiences.

• Function of Element: the killing of Jamal’s mother just shows religious crisis that also takes place in India. The first scene where Jamal was tortured, it is not done, even if the person uses “jazz” i.e. diabolical means; even the host was very terrible. Salim went bad so he could survive because of circumstances, he killed Naman so he will not come after him and had to stay under the solace of Javid for protection. Where did Salim get the gun from? Why didn’t the chili pepper affect Latika’s face when she lay down with the gloves she used to pick the pepper.

• Cinematography: fast cutting- traditional devices. Jarring pulsating visuals- this was more at action point, an example is when they fell off the train and rolled into the brush below. Jarring is the shaking of the camera when the characters move. Close-up shots- they were used in the film on the actors. They help the viewer to identify with the actor and also the music used was rhythmic. Angles- different directional angles were used in the film. This technique does not really help you identify from the point of view of the actor. It makes the viewers a real external observer which is not very good because the camera is supposed to be the eye of the viewers. Crane shots- what was used when they were playing cricket and the police man was chasing him. Rear projection- here a background comes closely to the foreground, the two are brought together and you see the action in the background. This is shown when Jamal was shouting Latika’s name at the train station. These twin shots took place at different places and time.

• Evaluation: the movie was very nice and unique in its own way, in fact for a book adaptation I think it was very impressive. The characters captured their roles well even to the little Jamal and Salim. The costumes used told the level of poverty in the slum.