Millions (2005)

A bag full of money falls from the sky. You see nobody around. Nor do you see any houses from nearby aside from yours. The money you count amounts to thousands of pounds, a million perhaps, or millions even. What would you do with the money? The following come to mind: a Porsche boxster, a spacious condo unit, the widest plasma TV available, a Vertu... The list goes on and on considering you have less than a week to spend all the money. in less than a week only euros will be accepted in the market. you can't even deposit it to a bank. They'll know... It is reported that a bank robbery took place. The sum of money reported to have been stolen amounts to roughly the sum of money you find inside the bag... So you just have to spend the money right away. you still have 6 days to be exact. So the list continues... an Acer Ferrari 3000 hooked to the Internet via the fastest wireless broadband speed available, tons of Italian shoes you never thought you can afford in your lifetime...... A sane individual would have similar things to buy imagined. perhaps even more extravagant, more lavish...

...not Damian, a 7-year-old boy who gets to see and converse with Saints, who is "ridiculed" for being so into nerd stuff and who finds a bag full of money in the movie "Millions" by a talented directer who's also behind "28 Days Later." In a journey leading to making everyone close him realize that true wealth has nothing to do with money, Damian eventually realizes that his deceased mother is considered a Saint (regardless of the strict qualifications in choosing one) for having done her own miracle--Damian himself.

Taking place in the real world, the movie takes viewers to virtuously wondrous places of Damian's imagination. It brings about a surprising feeling of warmth that even adults would not find abhorrent.

It's surprising and fascinating that having to have almost perfected the genre started by George A. Romero in his movie 28 Days Later and having made a "wickedly funny" movie like Trainspotting, Boyle is adept to make movies like this as well. It just shows his versatility as a director.

© 2006 Jonathan Susvilla