Slumdog Millionaire

Jason and I had the chance to go out on Friday night for a pre-Valentine's date. We had tapas at one of our Des Moines favorites, The Continental, and made our way to the Varsity. The Varsity is a fabulous old theater across the street from Drake University where the popcorn is still...brace yourselves...$1.75. The Varsity also always shows independent and/or international films - our favorite kind.

This week Slumdog Millionaire was showing. We loved this film, which, above all is a love story. It's also a fascinating journey that follows the memories of a young man growing up in the slums of India. It portrayed the humor, heartbreak, and triumph of slum life. I'll admit that I felt nauseous most of the first half. I had a hard time getting over the fact that for many children in the world poverty, filth, hunger and abuse are the norm. But, overall, this was a great film and one I would recommend to others. If for no other reason than to see some of the realities people in the developing world live with on a daily basis.

On a side note, Jason and I also discussed how ironic it is that these days have been labeled an economic "crisis" in our country. Seems like we should be honest and say, in comparison to the rest of the world, what we really mean is "we aren't able to keep up our outrageous standard of living and that bugs us." Take a look at the slums of India (or any other country in the developing world) and you might reconsider your definition of crisis.

Here's the trailer if you are interested...