Film Analysis Of The Film 'Slumdog Millionaire'

Directors Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan have won an array of awards for their film Slumdog millionaire released in 2008. The story captures a love story that prevails hardship beyond imaginable. The main character Jamal, played by Dev Patel, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of “Who wants to be a millionaire”, to find the woman that he loves, Latika played by Freida Pinto (older), and Rubina Ali (younger). This inspirational story is told with film techniques that makes it unique and distinct from others. Rather than going the traditional route, in chronological order starting with Jamal’s childhood, it goes in and out of his childhood years explaining how he got to the present situation he finds himself in, on the game show. These creative transitions not only explain his current situation, but the reason for why he gets the answers correct for every question asked. In this paper I will be analyzing a scene that is a key component in understanding the story line. The entire scene is built on a question asked on the game, “What was the god Raman holding in his right hand?”

The action is located in a single location of the slums, made known by the dirty water and surroundings of mud and bricks, and denotes as the set manufactures real life, it is shot using a panning bird’s eye view. The place and time is made obvious by the set design and costume. The scene begins with the conveying of summer, there are clear blue skies and bright surroundings. Its immense heat is made clear as we see young Jamal and his friends play in the water of the slums. There are sounds of people talking, laughing, water splashing, and trains passing by, as women do laundry, giving the audience a look into everyday life in the slums. Woman’s ...

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...answering of that question precisely.

In conclusion, Slumdog millionaire was worthy of that Academy award. The techniques that were used to tell this story were genius, and left the audience at the edge of their seat in every shot. Time was also very important in this scene, and it is evident throughout the entire film. Camera angles and shots bought the entire story to life, allowing the audience to truly feel as if they were a part of this complicated love story. Movies are meant to draw from its audience’s emotion, so that the characters may be bought to life. The way sound was used made the story powerful and gave the audience both hope and anxiety. Boyle did an excellent job bringing this story to life and keeping the audience engaged as we watched the puzzle pieces being placed together in this master piece that will soon become a classic in everyone’s home.