Released: 2016
Country: Australia, United Kingdom
Genre: Biographical drama
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review
Saroo, the protagonist of ''Lion'', lives with his mother and siblings in a small village of India. However, after accidentally getting on a train, he finds himself in Kolkata, which is far, far away from his home. The little Saroo is lost and confused in the unknown city and ultimately, he finds himself in an orphanage and is eventually adopted by an Australian couple, Sue (Nicole Kidman) and John (David Wenham). Twenty years later, Saroo, now a young man (played by Dev Patel), has forgotten his original mothertongue, Hindi, but still retains memories of his biological mother and siblings and of how he got lost. When a friend suggests that he use the Internet to locate his home in India and thus find his biological mother, Saroo gets to work immediately, working for several years to trace his hometown and often coming to dead ends, but never giving up hope.
''Lion'' is based on a true story. The screenplay is based on the book ''A Long Way Home'' by Saroo Brierley. The film manages to capture so many things beautifully: the hard lives of impoverished people, the plight of a child lost in an unknown city, the determination of a man to make his way back to where he originally came from, and maternal love- reflected through two different characters: Saroo's biological mother and also Sue Brierly, who adopts not just Saroo but also a boy named Mantosh and deeply loves them- we come to know her reason for not having her own children but adopting two children instead, a deeply moving reason.
It is heartwarming and deeply moving as we follow Saroo and his search for his identity, his home. Dev Patel gives an excellent performance, and Rooney Mara (playing Saroo's girlfriend Lucy), Nicole Kidman, David Wenham, Priyanka Bose (as Saroo's biological mother) and Sunny Pawar (as young Saroo) provide extraordinary support, shining in their roles. It is a very beautiful film indeed.
I am glad that you loved it a lot as I did. It is my favorite film of the year. I agree with the acting performances, definitely all of them are great and although just Kidman and Patel were nominated, nobody should forget the work from the other actors as well.
ReplyDelete