Raising from the slums with a great work of art!!!!

Slumdog Millionaire (2008): a short review (kind of)



Years back, I read a book by an obscure Colombian writer named Héctor Rojas Herazo. “Respirando el verano” (“Breathing the Summer”), a short novel of about one hundred pages or so, is nonetheless a literary gem from one of the less-famous members of the Latin American Literary Boom.

Rojas Herazo, with the hand of a true literary master, weaves a series of events with genuine linguistic craftsmanship to create a piece of work I found to be a delight to read.

In one instance, the writer describes a woman urinating in front of her house. But in the hands of Rojas Herazo the event of an old woman pissing on a dusty front patio in the midst of a hot summer day losses the comfortable anchor of a routine domestic occurrence. The text obviates that descent into inhumanity and dementia and acquires poetic transcendence. By virtue of the written word the sordid gesture is vested with epic tenure.

There is a sequence in Slumdog Millionaire, a movie by British director Danny Boyle, which is at once poignant, raw and funny, and possesses the same esthetic and sub-textual properties of a Rojas Herazo work.

Our young Indian hero Jamal Malik, an orphan from the slums of Mumbai, is locked by his mischievous brother in a shanty latrine wobbling on wooden stilts over a pool of filth, just as India’s big-screen hero arrives in the slums by helicopter.

Not wanting to let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip, Jamal dives feet first into the excrement down bellow clutching in his hand a photo of the movie star he keeps in his pocket held up high and safe from getting soiled.

The short anecdotic scene, vital to the dramatic arc of the protagonist, is definitely an iconic cinematographic moment, one that illustrates the mastery of its director.

That filth-covered kid parted the packed crowd of rabid fans like a Red Sea of onlookers pinching their noses with disgust. In that fleeting moment, young Jamal’s action stop being what it is to become a metaphor for opportunity. His character embodies the theory that there are opportunities to be had in every situation in life. Literarily covered in shit from head to toe, Jamal was the only one capable of reaching the coveted star and getting his autograph on a worn out, yet clean photograph.

Collecting praise and awards all over the world, besides its dramatic setting and some tragic events portrayed, Slumdog Millionaire overflows with optimism, a welcomed sight in these times of economic crisis and fear. I highly recommend you all check it out.

Remembering Ricardo Montalbán

The original Star Trek Khan. Signed by the Star, a treasure indeed!!!!

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Last Wednesday, Ricardo Montalbán, an undeniable all-time film and television star, passed away in his home in California at the age of 88.

Recognized and honored all over the world, it is still sad to witness as the curtain falls once more. Another figure representative of a distant and glorious era of the big screen sadly departs.

I did not get to meet Don Ricardo Montalbán in the flesh, but I was allowed the honor of getting a taste of his sensibilities, enjoy the virtue of his graces and the blessings of his generosity.

When, over 25 years ago, my writing partner and associate, Rafael J. Rivera-Viruet, started to put together our book “Hollywood… Se Habla Español,” Don Ricardo Montalbán embraced the project enthusiastically.

Not more than a year ago, moved by the images and the stories detailed in our humble literary endeavor, the actor called the book “a deserving homage to the Latino figure...” on his candid, yet enlightening preface.

“To have all those memories, all those faces, friends, colleagues and associates, all this beautiful and big Latino family gathered in one place, and ready to be cherished now and forever,” he wrote, a definite joy for the star after such a long and illustrious career in Hollywood.

The pride of calling him a collaborator stays with me, and in the case of my co-author, the pleasure of enjoying his close friendship for so many years.

This past year I visited L.A., in the midst of a film project, and tried to visit with the idolized star (Khan Noonien Singh has been a favorite of mine since childhood), he was already too sick to visit with a nosy writer. Instead, he let me keep a copy of an autographed photo he generously provided for our publication with the promise of its return.

I will treasure that gift all my life, not for what it is, but for what it means to me: a fleeting moment in my life when I was definitely touched by greatness.

Today the man, the star, the artist is no longer among us. Words are not enough to describe our sadness.

But, immortalized by the magic of the moving image, he remains as alive and present as he always has been: elegant, cool, collected, shining among the shiniest of stars and still the “Latin Lover.”

Through his films and TV appearances we honor his life, celebrate his achievements and cherish his memory.

Don Ricardo, we remember and thank you, for everything.