"Slumdog Millionaire" is one of the most devastingly gorgeous films I have seen this year. Set and filmed entirely in India, the film defies the typical standards of Indian cinema -- who for the most part represent India as a highly stylized, colorful, rich country where everyone is well-dressed and tends to break out in song -- to show the slums of Mumbai (where over 60% of residents live) and the lives of people from there.
"Slumdog" tells the story of Jamal Malik, an 18-year-old boy from the Juhu slums of Mumbai who manages to appear on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." The film covers his successful appearance on the show, intersplicing it with the many tragedies he endured during his life. He exceeds many peoples expectations as to how far he would get on the show, causing the show's host and police officer's to suspect he is cheating.
The film is the classic tale in the style of "Oliver Twist" or "Of Human Bondage" of a hardworking orphan who tries to make something out of his life despite the many setbacks he faces. At the core "Slumdog" is a love story, a rags-to-riches tale about a kid who spends his life just trying to get the girl.