Last weekend, I had the opportunity to see what I now consider to be one of the best movies ever made: "Slumdog Millionaire". Directed by Danny Boyle (28 Days Later, Trainspotting), the film follows the story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), an orphan who gets a spot on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". However, right before he has a chance to answer the last question, he is apprehended by authorities on charge of suspicion for fraud; they think he has cheated. Here the film begins to tell three stories at once. It shows Jamal being asked a question on the show. Before he answers each question, it cuts to his childhood and shows how he knows the answers to these rediculous trivia question. After an especially difficult question, it cuts again to Jamal being interrogated and tortured by the authorities.
Despite its "comedy" label on many websites (IMDB, box office mojo), the film tackles heavy-handed social issues. Poverty, child abuse, and religious warfare are all depicted in a realistic, and often disturbing, way. That isn't to say that the movie isn't funny. It is. But there were moments that impacted me so much that I came out of the movie with to different emotions simultaneously. The first was the heart-warming Shawshank Redemption feeling that can only be described by warm and fuzzy (the ending is stunning). The second was the same I got after watching "Atonement," that the world is a terrible, corrupt place where not even those with the best of intentions can redeem.