Larry Elder on "Slumdog Millionaire"

The libertarian Republican comments gives a thumbs up to the movie: "A dirt-poor orphan boy, Jamal, ends up on the Indian version of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.' How he got there, why he got there, how an uneducated young man managed to answer questions -- well, that's the journey. This is also a story about the path taken by two brothers. It is about cruelty and exploitation and the abject, completely dehumanizing poverty in India, a destitution that even the poorest among us would find unimaginable. And how ironic that much of the film takes place in Mumbai, India. For on the day we watched the film, Indian authorities almost 9,000 miles away fought with Islamic terrorists who launched multiple attacks, ultimately leaving more than 170 dead and hundreds more wounded. The viewer of this film is stunned -- time and time again -- at the poverty that makes the poorest rundown shack in Appalachia look like the honeymoon suite at the Bellagio."

He continues his commentary: "Right now, our economy is in a recession of unknown duration, with rising unemployment and vast economic anxiety. But we live here, in America -- a country of vast prosperity, freedom of choice, and a control over our own destinies that much of the world simply finds breathtaking. And this film reminds us that things could be worse -- much, much worse. There are good movies. And then there are movies where everything works -- the story, the acting, the experience. These are the films where -- when they end -- the audience just sits there. Stunned. Numb. We watch while the credits roll, as the soundtrack plays. We sit, take in, reflect upon, and try to get our heads around what happened during the last two hours. When Nina and I walked out of the theater, we started talking with another couple. 'I grew up poor,' the woman said, 'or I thought I did. But then my brother, who had been stationed in Bosnia, came home. He said, 'I've seen real poverty, and I'll never complain again.' And neither will anyone else who sees this film -- not for a long, long while. Yet above all, 'Slumdog' is a story about what kept Jamal going, what drove him to try to survive and cope. It is called love."