I wouldn’t classify myself as a huge Oscar fan, but I have been known on occasion if the stars align to sit down and take part in one of the nation’s greatest entertainment nights. I know some who go out and see every movie on the Best Picture list, and then even have parties for the big night! Whatever your “take” on it, I think it is of moderate interest at least to most of us general movie watchers.

I didn’t plan around it this year (I never do) and I did miss the big night as I was out of town. I might not have realized it had passed me by, but Monday’s Wall Street Journal cover had a photo of the cast of Slumdog Millionaire and so it caught my eye. ( I recently reviewed this movie in my blog dated 1-27-09) It was then worth my time to do a google search of the Oscar Results and find out what went down last Sunday in Hollywood. (Really, I wanted to know if the Academy agreed with me)

Drumroll please… Slumdog Millionaire won Best Motion Picture and WALL-E won Best Animated Feature Film! I just thought it was noteworthy to point out that of all the movies I have chosen to review in this forum, those were the only two I chose! My point being – apparently I am a good judge of movies. : ) So whether you chose to agree with the Academy or me, either way you’ll be right. I like being right for a change. Now if I could just convince my kids of that…

Last Sunday my husband and I went on a date for coffee and then a movie. (practice what you preach – quality time together alone – for those of you paying attention!) We rarely actually make it to the movie on a date because once we start talking then we decide we’d rather catch up than sit in a movie not talking to each other.

But this time Craig picked “Slumdog Millionaire” since it was his turn and he had heard great things about it, (my previous pick was Mamma Mia on DVD) and he would not be thwarted. Not to mention our coffee time was in the middle of the EP Center mall, and I think I was less than amiable about the location so we were both anxious to get to the quiet of the movie theater… (note to self: on a date with husband try not to complain about where the 1 hour of conversation takes place, just take it and be grateful!)

I didn’t know the plot line of this movie – until we were sitting in the theater and Craig said it was a low-budget film shot on location in the slums of Mumbai, (Bombay) India. Craig has been to Mumbai several times, and although he doesn’t typically frequent those parts, he has seen them, and is acutely aware that even though we were watching a supposedly fictional movie about a boy who makes it on the “Who wants to be a Millionaire show” in India, what was depicted on the screen was much, much more. It was the gut-wrenching, horrific reality of life in India for millions of people.

No Hollywood, (or Bollywood) sets here – just the all too painful images of children’s lives who are neglected, unwanted or exploited, mostly for financial reasons, in one of the poorest cities on earth. (Fact: While slum pockets cover a mere 6% of the land in Mumbai, they hold 60% of the population.) My eyes were closed in anguish for much of the first half of the movie. I felt a surge of emotions, many of which were compelling me to get up and leave the theater – I could hardly take the sadness and oppression these children face every day.

It certainly wasn’t the typical American movie watching experience – with drinks, popcorn, candy and the expectation of entertainment. (I couldn’t even eat my snacks, and was happy for the opportunity to use the restroom, even though I felt guilty for walking away from the truth for just a few moments.) In the end, it was a brilliant piece of film-making, fiction intricately woven together with reality, a clever storyline, classic elements of romance and enduring faith in the goodness of humankind. Definitely worth seeing, just prepare yourself first.

I wasn’t prepared for this movie – but I don’t think you CAN ever prepare yourself for the truth that came crashing through the silver screen that Sunday afternoon in America for me. And that is this: millions of people around the world really do live in absolute squalor, as we sit here in America engrossed in abundance (economic crisis – really?). We are lucky to live where we live, to be born where we were, and to never in our wildest dreams worry about being subjected to the atrocities that people face in India (and all over the world) every day. Our very worst day would be a pipe dream for hundreds of millions of people.

I find myself thinking of a Bible verse that pierces me each time I read it, “To those whom much is given, much will be required” – and I wonder how do I take action in such a faraway place?

In the past, we’ve chosen to help in our own small way by sponsoring children so they can attend school at the Saron Boarding Home in Tiruvannamalai, India. We work with Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry who do an amazing job helping people connect with the needs in the far reaches of the earth. Check them out if you’re interested in being a sponsor. There are also the likes of World Vision – we have a sponsored child in Peru through that organization – or Compassion International which are both worthwhile and reputable organizations.

But beyond the “typical” sponsorship – where I send money so theoretically I can check my “helping others in the poor parts of the world” box, and supposedly sleep better at night – I guess I feel like I should somehow do more, be more, help more. The vivid images from “Slumdog” have haunted me since… and my heart is plagued with sadness. And so, I will continue to pray about how to help. Certainly I have been given much – and so I wait to see more clearly what more will be asked of me in the future.

“Slumdog Millionaire” has been nominated for Best Picture by the Academy of Motion Pictures.

I recently went to the movie WALL-E with my 11-year-old son. We both really loved the movie, but not for its mainstream, politically correct “save the planet” message. There was much more depth to this heartwarming film for me than that.

WALL-E is the only “living” thing on planet earth 700 years in the future, (he is a robot) and his sole job is to compact into small, box-sized squares all the trash that has been left behind after the earth’s inhabitants depart to space to escape the mess they’ve created. The essence of emotion you feel at the beginning is similar to “Castaway”; poor WALL-E is utterly abandoned in a place where no sustainable life-form remains – save for his friend the cockroach.

In the evenings after a long day’s work, WALL-E passes the time by repeatedly watching the movie, “Hello Dolly”, which he presumably found in the garbage heap, along with his television set and the other piles of categorized and sorted junk he keeps in his humble abode. But “Hello Dolly” in turn, defines his meaning of love and companionship – which he clearly longs for. And although his loneliness is palpable, the singular profound truth that is revealed in this movie is too: WALL-E finds a way to make the best of his circumstance, by turning loneliness into hopefulness. Even though he spends his days alone, unless you count the unfathomable amounts of garbage he might have for company, he relishes what he has found in the garbage heap, in the form of a battered VHS tape that brings him joy, instead of focusing on the heap itself. And in so doing, he finds reason to hope.

And I have too…

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8