Slumdog Millionaire

After hearing the "Slumdog" buzz for months from the US - and endless facebook updates and emails and blogs mentioning how great the movie was i was excited that it was showing over here...and that i could see it...but it was not what i expected.

now, you could say that was just not thinking clearly. i know that the words coming out of my mouth did not connect with my brain as i said, "Its about a boy who grew up in the slums of Bombay and then was on Who wants to be a millionaire and it flashes back to when he was growing up." Now, i will admit that i should have been smart enough to realize that this movie would fall into the "disturbing movie" category - but like i said, my brain and mouth were just not connected. I think having heard how amazing it was over and over clouded my thought pattern.

i will gladly say that the movie is amazing. its a great movie in terms of filming and story, and i do love the soundtrack - i can see why its getting all the attention that its getting - but to describe the movie in one word i would hands-down pick "Disturbing" or maybe even "horrible" and not "Amazing" or "incredible" like i've heard over and over.

I think its cause i live in it. I think its different to watch a movie like Slumdog from the states, than to watch it when you live in it.

As i watched the movie i could replace the faces in the film with the faces, voices and personalities of kids i interact with somewhat regularly. There were these points in the movie that just crushed my heart. Since watching the movie i've had countless people - children, women, blind, disabled beg for money from me...and it is harder with these images and stories from the movie running through my head. i realize not every story is the story in the movie. I don't want to "project" onto the people that i interact with - but the truth is that a similar version of the hardships shown in Slumdog could be retold countless times in the city i live it. and it is hard for me to know what to do with that. Its hard to walk about of the air conditioned theater and walk right into the disturbing movie you just finished watching.

My friend Merilee described it really well. She said, "you watch a movie like Schindler's List and its horrible, but its over. and then you watch Slumdog, and its horrible, and you know that it is still going on everyday."

So that's my take on Slumdog. I'm thankful for the awareness that it raises. I'm thankful for the "education" factor as people around the world watch it. But could i be so bold as to wonder if anything will change in your heart, or your life becuase of what you've seen?

I'm glad i watched it, I did feel like my heart ripped out and jumped on for awhile - and while it hurt...it was probably good for me. I need to be reminded of the humanity all around me - the names, faces, and stories, not just the suffering, struggle and hardship that I see on the surface.