The movie was the Academy Award winning Slumdog Millionaire. Readers may want to know that it is an “R” rated film and some of the graphic scenes of torture will not be for everyone, but overall it had a very redemptive quality to it. In this movie one follows the protagonist — Jamal Malik, an 18-year-old who grew up in the slums of Mumbai, India. He entered the India edition of, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” and made it to the final round. The interesting twist in the story is that he is not on the show to win the money. One has to ask, “How did an uneducated boy from the slums progress so far in a game of knowledge and trivia?” He arrived at the right answers based on his life’s story, which is shown to us though the cinematic vehicle of flashbacks. Jamal’s purpose in being on the show is to find the love of his life, a young girl he met in the slums and was separated from through the turmoil and tragedies of life. In it all, we see the heart-breaking life of poverty many people in the world are condemned to struggle with and one individual who rises above it all guided by integrity, faithfulness and love. As I said, there is an inspirational quality to this film.
It hit me afterwards that in an era of bank failures and Bernie Madoff rip-offs, Americans are flocking to this movie. Could it be that we are fascinated by someone who stands on the verge of material success but realizes that love trumps money every time? Of course Slumdog it a typical Bollywood story about the power of romantic love, which can be just as fickle as a corrupted money manager. And human love falls far short of the love of God the Father for us. Jamal Malik in Slumdog found the power to endure many things, sustained by his love for his girlfriend. That can happen when you are 18. But the sustaining love that lasts a lifetime and beyond is found in an even more inspirational protagonist — the Apostle Paul. He said in Philippians 4 after his own period of suffering and deprivation, I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation … I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
That is even more inspiring, considering the times in which we are living.
Samuel A. Schreiner III is pastor of Noroton Church in Darien, Conn.
