Review of Slumdog Millionaire (2008) by Stephan M — 27 Jan 2013

I would like to start by saying I really enjoyed watching this movie and there was never a moment that I did not want to continue watching the film. The movie shows what an average Muslim boy may experience while growing up in Mumbai, a small town in India, and that it can be a very difficult life.

Jamal is the main character and the plot is based around his life growing up and how he ends up on an Indian version of "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire". All of the information he gained from growing up on the streets to falling in love with a local girl comes into play while he answers trivia questions on the game show.

He is later questioned about cheating because of his wide array of knowledge of the trivia questions; therefore he is forced to tell the story of his life to show how he gained his knowledge through life.

After his explanation to the police who are questioning him they begin to realize what Jamal has been through and why he is so intelligent about everything he has been tested on. Throughout this movie there is small but large involvements of religion, this movie shows at times what the Muslims have gone through trying to survive in India while being condemned by the Hindu.

At the beginning of the movies there is a scene where the Muslim community is being attacked by a group of Hindus and it demonstrates how much religions can affect lives around the world. At this point in the film Jamal and his brother are separated from their mother and are forced to survive on their own, there are then known to be "Slumdogs".

The power of others religious views become very real after seeing this scene and to know that some people in this world believe that they must go to extent to hurt and even kill others is hard to believe.

Here in America we are not exposed to the religious wars and violence that the Muslims experienced so it is very hard to understand how Jamal grew up and what all he experienced. Overall this was a great movie and I would definitely recommend it to everyone, it will show you how great our life in America is and how others are affected by Religion.