Lion (2016)

Director: Garth Davis

Screenplay: Luke Davies (based on the book by Saroo Brierley)

Cast: Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Roone Mara, David Wenham

Music: Hauschka, Dustin O’ Halloran

Time: 118 minutes

Bottom-line: Brilliantly made! The climax will melt your heart

Nominated for six Oscars at the 89^th Academy Awards, Garth Davis’ debut feature film could be the most heart-warming one of 2016. The film is based on Saroo Brierley’s non-fiction book A Long Way Home, where he narrates his adventure of being “lost” from home for over 25 years.

 

Patel as the adult Saroo

Based on a true story.

Khandwa, India, 1986: Saroo (Sunny Pawar), his brother, Guddu (Abhishek Barathe), and mother (Priyanka Bose) work as labourers. One night, Saroo follows his brother to a train station, where he waits while his brother looks for employment. In search of Guddu, Saroo boards an empty train – and dozes off – which takes him to Calcutta, 1600 kilometres away. Without knowing a word of Bengali, a panic-stricken Saroo eventually finds himself in an orphanage. Months later, an Australian couple in Tasmania: John (Wenham) and Sue (Kidman) Brierley adopt Saroo. Twenty years, Saroo (Patel) returns to Melbourne to study hotel management. He starts a relationship with Lucy (Mara). When talking to other Indians, Saroo suddenly realises he is not from Calcutta, and decides to start a search for his true home. The rest of the film is how he uses Google Earth to help him with his search, and how that affects his life in Australia.

 

Pawar as the young Saroo

There is not a single dull moment in the film. The first one hour deals with Saroo’s life in India; till then it is pretty much like a Bollywood film in every aspect. The second half deals with his life with his new parents, his girlfriend, and his search for home. This is not the first film that has been made about someone searching for his home and family, but Davis’ film stands out because of its faithfulness to the true story – no unnecessary exaggerations and melodrama – and the way it portrays themes like a mother-son bond, and the love between brothers. The scenes from Saroo’s childhood keep flashing by on the screen, often comparing his actions in Australia to those of his childhood, emphasising on the nostalgia.

 

Kidman as Sue Brierley 

Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman are both nominated in the Supporting Actor/Actress categories. The former puts on an Australian accent, but his Indian appearance makes him perfect for the role. The way he is able to show his feelings of missing home and family is superb, and towards the end it gets even better; if the climax of Lion isn’t the most heart-warming scene of all the films in 2016 then I don’t know what is! Nicole Kidman has excelled in her role as the “mother” of Saroo. Her happiness on seeing the little boy she’s going to adopt, her sadness on seeing him distinguish between his adopted and biological brothers, and her support for his search will pull some strings in your heart as well. Priyanka Bose and the debutant, Sunny Pawar, have performed wonderfully too.

 

Mara as Lucy

The film closes by saying that over 18000 children disappear in India every year, and that the film crew have setup an option for donation towards this purpose, in the film’s official website. The best part of Lion is that it is a film catering to the taste of Indian audience, but without the clichés or drama of a usual Bollywood film. Emotionally powerful and visually uplifting, this film is one to cherish.

My Rating: 4/5

Rotten Tomatoes rating: 86%