Slumdog Millionaire bags 8 Oscars!

"What the hell can a slumdog possibly know?"

Could he have known that he would be the winner of 8 Oscars?
It would probably have been written... somewhere in the book of destiny.

Best Picture
Best Directing
Best Music (Song)
Best Music (Score)
Best Film Editing
Best Sound Mixing
Best Cinematography
Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Director Danny Boyle jumped up and down like Tigger of Winnie the Pooh.
He says this is his promise to his kids who are now too old to remember it.

"My kids are too old to remember this now, but when they were much younger, I swore to them that if this miracle ever happened that I would receive it in the spirit of Tigger from "Winnie-the-Pooh" and that's what that was. You've been so generous to us this evening and I wanted to thank you for that and also for an extraordinary, what a beautiful show you've done. I don't know what it looks like on television, everybody, but in the room, it's bloody wonderful, really. So, well done, everyone."

- Danny Boyle (Best Directing)


A R Rahman performed his two nominated songs just before he went on stage to pick up his trophy.
It is a deserved win for his song 'Jai Ho' which stirred the emotions of its audience.

"I just want to thank again the whole crew of Slumdog Millionaire, especially Danny Boyle for giving such a great opportunity. And the whole, all the people from Mumbai. The essence of the film which is about optimism and the power of hope in the lives, and all my life I had a choice of hate and love. I chose love and I'm here. God bless."

- A R Rahman (Best Music: Song & Score)


"Hi gang. Thank you very much indeed. There are certain places in the universe you never imagine standing. For me, it's the moon, the South Pole, the Miss World podium and here. It's a tremendous honor, so thank you to the Academy. I certainly wouldn't be standing here tonight without Vikas Swarup, who wrote the book, without which none of Slumdog would ever have happened. So thank you, Vikas."

- Simon Beaufoy (Best Writing: Adapted Screenplay)


The time came for the Best Picture before the curtain falls on the 81st Academy Awards, and of course as it has to be, Slumdog Millionaire, and everyone who has a part gathered on stage with the world listening as producer Christian Colson sums it up nicely.

"Thank you so much to the Academy. As you can see, our film was a collaboration between hundreds of people. I'm so happy that so many of them could be with us here tonight to share this moment. Together, we've been on an extraordinary, an extraordinary journey. When we started out, we had no stars, we had no power or muscle. We didn't have enough money, really, to do what we wanted to do. But what we had was a script that inspired mad love in everyone who read it. We had a genius for a director. We had a cast and a crew who were unwavering in their commitment and whose talents are up on the screen for all of you to see."

- Christian Colson

Here's all the OSCARS WINNERS.

Destiny in Love - A Quick Review of Slumdog Millionaire

What's it about?
Slightly over-hyped, but a good film nonetheless.

Slumdog Millionaire tells the tale of how a youth (Jamal) made it through the slums of India, and why he got on 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire?' where every answer to every question has a story to tell.

Destiny here is livened in the name of love.

Why the hype?
Tagged as the Feel-Good Film of the Decade, Slumdog Millionaire has bagged four Golden Globes in Motion Picture, Director, Screenplay and Music.

Who stars?
Dev Patel as Jamal
Anil Kapoor as Prem
Frieda Pinto as Latika

Who directed?
Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later)

Notable crew
Simon Beaufoy, the writer behind Slumdog Millionaire who adapted the story from Vikas Swarup's novel, Q & A.
Christopher Dickens, the editor who stylishly brought the story to live by linking every scene brilliantly.
A R Rahman, the composer of the film's sound tracks, for without him the emotions of the film cannot be felt passionately.

Return to Innocence - A Review of Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

Said to be inspired from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea is Japanese animation master, Hayao Miyazaki’s next big work after the well-received Spirited Away in 2001 and Howl’s Moving Castle in 2004.
In Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, his signature style of animating fantasy realms and children characters are on display once again.

Sosuke (Hiroki Doi), the boy lead in the film discovers a ‘goldfish’ trapped in a glass jar while playing by the seaside below the cliff.
He stays with his mum, Lisa (Tomoko Yamaguchi) above and atop it.
Sosuke shakes the jar forcefully to try and get the ‘goldfish’ out but the little ‘goldfish’ is stuck.
He then tries to pull it out but it just cannot come loose.
Sosuke then place the jar on the ground before smashing a small rock onto it, breaking it into pieces instantly while suffering a small cut on the finger.
He then checks inquisitively to see if the ‘goldfish’ is still alive.
As he observes it, the ‘goldfish’ reacts by licking the blood off his finger suddenly.
Excited, Sosuke quickly rushes back to the house and put the ‘goldfish’ in a small bucket of water in hope that it will survive.
It did and he named it ‘Ponyo’(Yuria Nara).

The above scene would signify what is to come for the remainder of the film.
It is of the interactions between Sosuke and Ponyo.
And it is one that Hayao Miyazaki did meticulously well in portraying.
He must have a keen sense of observation and understanding of how children behave before he depicts this chemistry of communication between the two main characters.
The behavior of the children would also extend into the rest of the film in their further encounters.

The affection between Sosuke and Ponyo grew as the film progresses from the moment Sosuke brought Ponyo to school in Lisa’s car.
The best moment came when the two were reunited after a brief separation when Ponyo’s father, Fujimoto (George Tokoro), a magical sea dweller recaptures the errant Ponyo before encapsulating her in a magic bubble with kind intention.

Fujimoto who was once human has grown to refer humans with disgust for polluting the sea and stealing its life.
But all Ponyo wants is to be human and be with Sosuke so for a second time she escapes, accidentally emptying his father’s precious store of magical elixir into the sea, creating a storm of tidal waves and engulfing the small town in the process.

What follows are the adventures of Sosuke and Ponyo in the flooded town.

Is there a happily ever after in this one?
Would true love prevail?
You find out.

Looking at the art in Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, there appears to be a deviation from Miyazaki’s past works in terms of rendering.
It looks unfamiliar because the environment apart from the characters at play in every scene is not colored in the usual fashion as in Spirited Away (2001) and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004).
The aesthetical appeal is discounted from what appears to be color penciled drawings.
The objects and characters are also not as detailed as before.

This is peculiar if taken on face value but from the way the story is written and told, the possible explanation is that Miyazaki is allowing the audience to view the film with a child’s tint, yet allowing the adults to reminisce on a Japan when they were younger.
This move could have prevented prospective moviegoers, new to Miyazaki’s work to see it.
The trailer did nothing to promote Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea as well.
Taking the case to Japan however would be a different story as Miyazaki’s credential far than exceed any marketing technique.

In summary though, the whole did not equal to its parts.
Aside from Miyazaki’s ability to cast vivacious and animated characters, the film lacks elements of thrill and wonder when measured against previous works, resulting in a deficit of big screen presence.

The sparks of Ponyo and Sosuke failed to light up the film in a big way but moments of warmth, kindness, and love can still be found in recognizing the film as one that is not made for the kids, but of the kids who everyone is or once was.


Official sites:
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (Japanese)
Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea (English)