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"When I say 'trendy' I mean Slumdog Millionaire is warmed-over Dickens with a multi-culti sheen, and critics (who are indeed gushing -- 85 on Metacritic, with lots of 100 scores) feel good about praising something that takes World Cinema and throws it into a blender. Imagine the same story with a trailer-trash white kid in a setting of domestic rural poverty and meth labs -- same reviews?" -- HE reader MikeSchaeferSF.

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on November 25, 2008 at 11:12 AM

comment #1

MikeSchaeferSF says ...

I am honored and humbled, Jeff.

Posted by MikeSchaeferSF at November 25, 2008 11:24 AM

comment #2

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

In somewhat indie related news, MCN is reporting that Film Independent accepted Raddon's resignation.

I think it's the amount that sunk him. Had it just been the standard $100, he could say "Look, it's my church and they asked. I didn't really think it through that well it was such a small amount." But at $1500, it means you had to seriously ponder it, unless Dawn Hudson was paying him like $300K a year or something.

Posted by Deathtongue_Groupie at November 25, 2008 11:33 AM

comment #3

Unison says ...

1.) Its cultural sheen is well-integrated, really, with the upward mobility of its protagonist and its backdrop. All of this meshes well with the fairy-tale wish fulfillment inherent in its plot and the game show that's used as a central plot device. As much as people think of the film as exotic, it's actually pushing cultural conformity and distinctly Western, distinctly generic values.

2.) Aesthetically, it's loud and jumpy enough that it actively discourages any sort of introspection. If people watch it a second time, I imagine opinions will become more guarded, but it seems that the (sloppy) Bollywood number at the end is enough to make people leave with goodwill.

3.) That same cultural element, while merely exotic in the US, will be far more resonant in the UK. As strong an Oscar contender as this may or may not be, it's going to be HUGE at the BAFTAs. Here Britain's influence has distorted India beyond recognition, into some sort of more colorful reflection of the motherland.

It pains me to see The Wrestler getting the red-headed stepchild treatment that The Savages got last year from Fox Searchlight in favor of this year's Juno.

Posted by Unison at November 25, 2008 11:41 AM

comment #4

corey3rd says ...

The Wrestler swims or sinks based completely off Mickey Rourke's antics. They should have given him to Biden's handlers.

Posted by corey3rd at November 25, 2008 11:47 AM

comment #5

Unison says ...

True. Also, seeing how horrible Rourke looks in person made me think LESS of his performance, if anything. haha.

Posted by Unison at November 25, 2008 11:50 AM

comment #6

Luke Y. Thompson says ...

Imagine the same story with a trailer-trash white kid in a setting of domestic rural poverty and meth labs -- same reviews?

Such a movie would be not unlike SPUN, a fave of mine that certainly didn't get a bunch of awards.

Posted by Luke Y. Thompson at November 25, 2008 1:14 PM

comment #7

K. Bowen says ...

Well, someone had to say it.

Posted by K. Bowen at November 25, 2008 2:44 PM

comment #8

qwiggles says ...

"It pains me to see The Wrestler getting the red-headed stepchild treatment that The Savages got last year from Fox Searchlight in favor of this year's Juno."

Well put, though I must add that Slumdog does not have one iota of the emotional maturity of Juno in its best moments: Paulie and Juno mulling over her pregnancy and prom in his bedroom, their silent moment on the hospital bed, Vanessa putting Juno's note on the wall, etc. Whatever the stilted sitcom delivery of its early scenes, those moments attest to something much more real at its centre than Slumdog's predestined virginal angel soulmates, whose strongest trait in common is that they are personality-free and decent.

Posted by qwiggles at November 25, 2008 5:20 PM

comment #9

qwiggles says ...

Incidentally, rewatching Chungking Express on its new Criterion release affords an interesting counterpoint with Slumdog. Very similar aesthetic, marked by the same freewheeling, energetic stuff people seem to love about SM, but with a much more involving emotional connection between its leads.

Posted by qwiggles at November 25, 2008 5:24 PM

comment #10

YND says ...

I loved THE WRESTLER -- my fave of the year after SLUMDOG and WALL*E -- but did anyone else want just a little more time with the movie? I felt like I just wanted to live with those characters a little longer. Not a ton and it didn't submarine the movie for me or anything, but I'd have liked just a little more screen time for the relationships to play out. The rare movie that understays its welcome 20 more minutes would've felt right to me.

Posted by YND at November 25, 2008 6:42 PM

comment #11

lipranzer says ...

I have to agree re SLUMDOG. It certainly was worth watching, but I was too conscious of my buttons being pushed, and the love story part I felt was very underdeveloped. The actress was certainly pretty enough, but she had no character to play.

I did like the Bollywood number at the end.

Posted by lipranzer at November 25, 2008 7:41 PM

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