Movie Thoughts: Lion (2016)

• Released: November 24, 2016
• Directed by: Garth Davis
• Running time: 1 hr 58 min
• Rating 4.5/5

Synopsis

Based on true events, a young Indian boy named Saroo falls asleep on a train and wakes up in Calcutta, over a thousand kilmeters away from his hometown. After growing up in Australia after being adopted by a kind couple, he keeps being plagued by memories of his past, prompting him to finally use Google Earth as a tool in hopes of finding his hometown and his family.

My Thoughts

A heart wrenching movie that made me teary-eyed, which rarely happens. I actually read the book written by the real person the story is based on a few years ago, and while I don’t remember all the details, I do believe that it’s mostly accurate to the source material. Certain aspects have been simplified, but the overall story and characters are the same.

The movie has some really good child acting in it and you really feel the relationships between these people, especially Saroo and his (both biological and adopted) family. You just want this guy to find his way home so bad, even after 25 years.

I can’t say if its representation of India is accurate or not because I’m a white European (obviously).


I really enjoyed the soundtrack (especially the soft theme that keeps coming back) and just the movie overall. I won’t spoil the ending, but it’s definitely both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I’m not usually one to watch this type of movie, but I definitely will see this one again in the future because of how good it was. Definitely recommend both the movie and the book.