the case for 'curious case'

Type the key words 'Oscars 2009' or academy awards 2009' and your typical search engine will return links with Slumdog Millionaire in in the brief description. If it were up to the typical movie buff in America (many of which represent the typical movie critique at E! News, Boston Globe, etc.), the Oscar for Best Motion Picture would have been given to Slumdog Millionaire months ago. The reason being as simple as the movie offers the story of hope and courage.

Or, if you talk to someone who has watched the film and does not know much about India, you would learn the real reason why Slumdong is such a success in the US. Majority audience in the US has hardly seen the level of poverty captured by Danny Boyle's team. They might have heard of it, but were never able to put the information to imagination. With Slumdog, audience is able to visualize how bad it can be in third world countries. They are shocked by the fact that there are people in the world who would cut limb's of kids and make them beg for money and thrive on it. Where is the greatness of the film in all this?

Some might argue that Slumdog was liked by the US audience for it's story. Believing this statement is catering negligence. How many films can you name that were nominated for best film at the academy awards and were hated in some part of the world and loved in other. Take great films like Titanic or Rocky or Gladiator or The Godfather, all were loved in every part of the world. Slumdog Millionaire bombed at the Indian box-office. Why? Because what is shown in the film is not new for the the audience. It is a way of life. Again, where is the greatness of the film or the story in all this?

The curious case of Benjamin Button is not your typical Oscar film, but a class above it. There has hardly ever been a collage of acting, screenplay, editing and direction so beautifully presented on celluloid. The story goes in intimate details without slowing the pace of the screenplay. It is David Fincher's greatest work yet and a deviation from his normal genre.

After winning the Screen Actors Guild Award and Directors Guild Award for best film, Slumdog Millionaire has the momentum and the buzz it needs to bag the Academy Award as well. But, the academy might do the right thing by honoring the deserving film with the honor, which clearly is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

If this is not a case enough, try comparing 'Slumdog Millionaire' to other movies that have won the Oscar for best film in the past 10 years and you will see what I mean by 'greatness of the film'. Then see 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' and see how it fares with other 'great films'.