Sometimes the poorest of men are the richest

Yes, I’m going to dare to talk about a film other than Slumdog Millionaire.  This past weekend, I watched a film called Amal and I can’t stop thinking about it.  While this movie has been shown at several independent film festivals, it hasn’t received the attention I think it deserves (actually, perhaps that’s a good thing – those films that get hyped are often dissapointing!).  The story is quite simple,

AMAL, a multi-layered portrait of contemporary India, follows an auto-rickshaw driver in New Delhi (Amal) who is content with his small, but vital role in life. One day he drives an eccentric billionaire who, disguised as a vagabond, is searching the streets for the last morsel of humanity, and someone he can leave all his money to, and Amal’s life may change forever. AMAL serves up a visual feast for audiences. Filmed on location in New Delhi, India, this modern day fable asks the important question of what success means to each individual and ultimately reveals to audiences that the poorest of men are sometimes the richest.

It seemed pretty significant to watch this film during these pressing economic times.  Amal, the lead role in the film, is played by Canadian actor Rupinder Nagra.  A small role in the film is also played by Gurpreet Chana (The Tabla Guy).  Gurpreet composed some of the music for the film too.  If you manage to get your hands on this film, you won’t be dissapointed.  In the meantime, here’s the trailer: