seen-it: Slumdog Millionaire

Circumstances mean I actually got a rare night out at the cinema with just MA.

What an awesome film - definitely worthy of all it's accolades. Hard hitting, challenging, poignant, entertaining, uplifting all at the same time.

Really don't understand the BBFC ratings though. This was a 15, but trailers beforehand were for films rated 12 which seemed to focus exclusively on guns, violence & menace. Yet here's a film which contained very little bad language, violence but not in the least bit gratuitous or gory (it was nice to be left to use our imagination on some of the scenes), a love interest with NO sex what-so-ever!, and a message where honesty, integrity, faithfulness & hope prevail - yet this is a 15! Go figure.

The scenes of slum life were thoroughly sobering & depressing. They certainly give an appreciation of the rule of law and of economic justice & fair play that we have as our cultural foundation and our inheritance. Got me thinking how would you ever lift a country out of such a malaise, and also how quickly/easily it would be to sink into one. It does get you wondering where God's grace & mercy are in such circumstances.

This is cinema at it's best. Both MA & I enjoyed it - harrowing & uplifting. What more could you want?!

seen-it: Kite Runner

Well, not a barrel of laughs!

A real choker of a film. I know the book had received loads of accolades but had no idea what the plot was at all.

A real emotional account of friendship, redemption & honour. Shows quite vividly the starkness and soullessness of life under the Taliban. If the depictions of life in Afghanistan before & after the Taliban are at all accurate then it shows just how low they have brought the country.

But it's not mainly about the country of Afghanistan but about the relationships between the main characters. Had very little sympathy for the main character - Amir - at first. He was as weak and cowardly as they intended to portray him, and his behaviour towards his friend compounded the shame he was rightly feeling. But the unfolding redemption story is very powerful & moving ... and the whole notion of honour & duty that undergirds it all is very challenging. His father's act of courage at the border crossing was particulaly powerful.

Glad I watched it. Inspiring and thought provoking. And a happy ending of sorts!