It is good to be broken sometimes.

I loved it. I loved Slumdog Millionaire.

I got the happy ending I was looking for. Jamal and Latika reunite after my near-anxiety attack when the last question appeared and dramatic irony took over. There are tears and a kiss and a dance party, and my happy ending is complete.

I am an easy acceptor of any story with a happy ending, no matter the storyline. Nonetheless, I was impressed by the set up of Slumdog Millionaire. A large portion (the majority?) of the movie is a series of flashbacks. Jamal  is not a genius- he doesn't know the answer to some of the simplest questions that any Indian should know. As fate has it though, Jamal has some horrible life experience to go with just about every question, offering him answers that many others could never have guessed. At one point, Jamal is asked "Who invented the revolver?" Jamal knows without hesitation that it is Samuel Colt. Just before the game ends, Jamal is accused of being a cheat. His torturers question how he, a slumdog, could possibly know an answer like that. Before he responds, we go back in time to a climax in his life, where his older brother kicks him out of his apartment, threatening him with his "Samuel Colt revolver" and, probably, raping his best friend. Jamal explains how he knew each answer and we see each terrifying incident in his life, returning to the present reality of the game in between them. The shifts back and forth in time are intriguing, and not confusing. The story flows very easily from beginning to end.

Although bringing me to tears is not an enormous feat, it is worth noting that I felt emotionally connected throughout the entire movie. I wasn't counting, but my hand probably went to my heart at least twenty times and I found myself gnashing my teeth in anger, holding my head in fear, and squealing and clapping with joy. Even several days later, thinking about the situation of so many like them in India and much of the world disturbs me. I realize I cannot solve every world problem. I may not be able to do anything for the millions (billions?) of individuals with horrific lives like Jamal's. But. I think it is good to be broken sometimes. I think we need to act; we need to work towards ending the hurt in the world. But it is good to feel a little even when you cannot solve. Right now, it's good to be broken.