Wow, what an emotional roller coaster. Lion is one of the better movies of 2016. I really can’t say enough about this touching, true story about a little five year old boy who gets separated from his family, ends up in Calcutta, approximately 1,600 km away from home and ultimately lands in Australia, where he now lives with his new adoptive parents. How did this all come to be?
An East Indian family: a mother Kamla Munshiand (Priyanka Bose) called Mum by her children, her two boys, Saroo Brierley (Dev Patel), Young Saroo (Sunny Pawar), Guddu Kahn (Abhishek Bharate), and Shekila, their new baby sister lived in meager surroundings. Mum works for survival as a laborer who carries rocks and her two boys helps any way they could. One evening, Guddu, the middle child readied himself to go to work, but had to decide who was going to take care of Shekila, his baby sister. Mum had already left for her job, leaving the children unattended until someone came to look after the baby. Saroo wanted to help out so much he begged his brother to let him go with him to his job. After using every excuse he could think of to say no, he finally gave in and allowed his little 5 year old brother to come along. They ended up at a train station where Saroo finally fell asleep on an empty train car while his brother was off tending to his work. The train pulled off before Saroo awakened and despite his calls for help, there was no one on the train to provide any assistance. ”Saroo called out his brothers name over and over to no avail. He traveled two days before he was able to get off the train. He tried to tell authorities where he was from but apparently had the wrong name which rendered the home he tried to describe non existent. As Saroo explored his new surroundings, he almost got sold into a child molestation ring. He was suffering from hunger, eating out of garbage cans and off the ground while he encountered many other horrific problems, he finally ended up in an orphanage, then with an agency that would place him with parents who wanted to free him from his deplorable circumstances, via adoption. A loving couple from Australia ended up adopting Saroo but he never forgot his Mum and siblings. After 25 years, Saroo became obsessed at the thought of finding his biological mother. His adoptive parents John Brierley (David Wenham) and Sue Brierley (Nicole Kidman) were fantastic people and did all they could to make sure their son had everything he needed to move forward in his life.
This movie was brilliantly acted and the story was told with all the emotion and tenderness it deserves. I truly enjoyed Lion and am torn between which of the nominated movies is the best of 8 up for Best picture. You should definitely check Lion out.
[Lion is nominated for Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Original Score and Adapted Screenplay]
CAROL's WORLDS 