Slumdog Millionaire

The film Slumdog Millionaire is the story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost.

Chapter 4 in our text talks about two basic shapes, or aspect ratios, for a projected image which are standard screen and wide screen. The width of the standard screen is 1.33 times its height. The width of the wide screen, known by trade names such as Cinemascope, Panavision, and Vistavision; varies from 1.85 to 2.55 times its height. These can contribute to the effectiveness if horror or suspense films. The wide screen lends itself to a panoramic view of a vast landscape or large numbers of people. It can actually distort an image if the physical set is too narrow for its field of view. The standard screen requires the frequent use of close-ups and very little movement of subjects in space. I watched Slumdog Millionaire in the standard screen.

In Slumdog Millionaire, smooth-grain film stock was used as mentioned in our text. It produces an image that is smooth, or slick. These types of films have a wide range of subtle differences between light and dark, letting the director create fine tones, artistic shadows, and contrasts; Slumdog Millionaire showed this very well.

Chapter 4 of our text also talks about two different kinds of lighting, low-key lighting and high-key lighting. Low-key lighting puts most of the set in a shadow. In Slumdog Millionaire, low-key lighting was used while he was on the show Who Wants to be a Millionaire? There was lighting on Jamal while the audience was in the shadow. High-key lighting results in more light areas than shadows. In Slumdog Millionaire, this lighting was used a lot. The way a scene is lit is an important factor in determining the scene's dramatic effects. Different lighting creates mood and atmosphere for the action to take place.

Slumdog Millionaire was once again a good film. It kept me wanting to find out more about Jamal's life. The end of the movie was my favorite when Jamal and Latika sing to the song "Jai Ho" in the subway. The film can make people realize that no matter where they come from, they can make a difference.