Had a movie marathon the other day--saw Slumdog Millionaire and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  The latter was somewhat disappointing.  I never really came to like the lead female character, so much of the movie didn't ring true for me.  And Brad Pitt remained Brad Pitt--engaging and charming, but still someone playing a role.  But it also may partly have been because Slumdog Millionaire was so incredible and we saw that first.

We lived in India for several years, as I have mentioned.  Because of that, this movie resonated with me in a way the person I was with couldn't share.  But it is a movie worth seeing, for everyone--great story, great visuals, great characters.  It was based on one of my favorite books, Q&A, which is worth reading if movies aren't your thing.

If you go to see SM, you need to know that while the plot is made up, the rest of the movie isn't.  There were no sets created.  The slum exists as it appears.  What happens to the kids really happens.  The attitudes depicted are spot on.  More than any movie I have seen about it, this truly gives you a hint of what India is like on one level.  As the tourism slogan says, Incredible India.  It is, and it's one of the few places I've been that you can't describe to people--you have to go there and experience it.

Aside from loving the movie, it made me very sad.  I miss being there.  I miss my friends and my activities.  I miss the opportunities to experience new and different things.  I miss feeling useful and being able to do things that make a difference for people whose need is endless.  I miss the food.  I miss just about everything about it (the bugs, not so much, although where we are living now isn't much different in that aspect).  I felt like I wanted to go home...

We have been somewhat nomadic through the course of our marriage, so for us, home has always been wherever we are living at the moment.  But if home is where the heart is, after seeing Slumdog Millionaire, my heart is back in India.

Go see it.  It's a wonderful movie.