There are movies that feel entertaining and there are movies that stay as a lesson after watching them. For me, one that really impacted how I think is Slumdog Millionaire. The show is not just about winning the money but about how life random life facts and experiences can shape and help you in unexpected ways.
The Lesson That Stayed With Me
The biggest lesson I learned from this movie is that you never know when random knowledge and experience will help you. Jamal Malik, an 18 year old from the Juhu slum, was not educated in a formal way but he knew the answers because of what he lived through. The police even arrested him at one point because they thought he was cheating but it's actually just from his own experiences and being observant. Every question in the game show connected to a memory from his past. It made me realize that learning does not only come from school but also in everyday life and every simple things you experience.
One scene I remember is the answer to question, "On an American $100 bill, there is a portrait of which American statesman?" A tourist gave him a $100 bill (or he encountered it, I forgot which) and he remembered the face from that real-life interaction. It's part luck but also part experience. You may know this person because you're an American and encounter this in your everyday life or simply because you saw an image on the internet. Regardless of how you know this, it would still be a random knowledge that you don't know when it would help you in life.
But not all the questions are can be known and sometimes, luck plays a huge part. In the last question, "In Alexander Dumas’ book The Three Musketeers, two of the musketeers are called Athos and Porthos. What was the name of the third?" Jamal answers based on emotion. He didn't know the answer and it all comes to luck.
This movie made me think about my own life. Sometimes, I feel like small things I learn or experience are not important. But this movie showed me that everything can have value someday. Even random moments or struggles can help in ways I cannot see yet.
I would recommend this movie because it gives a simple but good message. You do not need to have a perfect path to succeed. Life teaches you in different ways and those lessons stay with you. You just have to trust that what you are going through now can help you later.