Lion movie review
Moonlight Cinema
January 3, 2017
In a preview screening for the Lion movie which features Nicole Kidman, I made my way for the first time this summer to the iconic Moonlight Cinemas at Botanic Park.
There were strong numbers in attendance on this mild summer night.
The movie is based on a true story. For the start of the movie, we are taken to 1986 where we see two close brothers playing and trying to earn money in their home town in India. The big brother named Guddu takes his little brother Saroo in his wings and you can really see the bond between the two. The movie revolves around Saroo and we see that early on as he gets separated from his brother on a train and is overcome with grief finding himself alone on a train that keeps going and going across India.
The train stops 1,600 kms away from home at Calcutta and we see a different way of life for Indians from the friendly village style home of Saroo to the busy and horrible world of Calcutta. Here you witness some terrible elements of Calcutta which drives home how lucky we are to live in such a safe country like Australia. Saroo comes across many other missing children and being a 5 year old, he has no idea where he is and how to get home.
He ends up in an orphanage with so many other children. Here we come across more nasty elements of being a missing child in India.
They are unable to find his mum or hometown, but they do find adoptive parents for Saroop who become his new mum (enter Nicole Kidman) and dad. We see Saroo adjusting to his new life in Hobart and before long, he has a brother too who also comes from the orphanage back in India.
We also see the difficulties of adjustment for the new parents. Brings them joy but also pain at times.
We fast forward 20 years and Saroo has now grown into a handsome young man who is achieving great things with his career into hospitality. He also finds love when he moves to Melbourne to further his career. He eventually does settle back to Hobart but there is one thing that is constantly on his mind and causing him sleepless nights. That being what is his home town and the chance to see his birth mum and older brother again.
We go along a journey with Saroo as he puts his mind into finding the exact place he lived and he pushes aside his career and relationships in order to achieve this goal.
Does he found out his birthplace, and get the chance to see his mum and brother again? We are going to make you go and see the movie to find out.
The acting in the movie is magnificent and I expect awards to be a strong possibly in the upcoming awards season.
But this is one strong eye opening film that will leave you gasping with shame at times, but also leave you with joy as we see Saroo live in a beautiful life with amazing adoptive parents in Hobart.
We recommend you have some tissues handy for this movie.
Words by Tony Polese
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