The Movie That Changed My Perspective on Adoption

Rating: 9/10 (11 April 2017)

I've always thought of adoption as a last resort. I've never thought of it as a viable option for someone who could conceive children of their own, and I never thought that a movie, of all things, would change this perspective.
Lion is the story of a young, impoverished, Indian boy named Saroo who mistakenly takes a train thousands of miles away from his home and cherished older brother. The strength and resilience of this five-year-old boy resounds with you as he faces hunger, loneliness, and danger in an area that speaks an entirely different language. He is later adopted by an Australian couple through an Indian orphanage. We then see the happy, well-adjusted, adult Saroo—he has decided to track down his home using the new technology of Google maps.
If you're in the mood for a tear-jerker, this is the movie for you. In one scene, Saroo tells his adoptive mother that he is sorry she couldn't conceive her own children. She corrects him: "We both felt that the world has enough people in it." Unbelievably, this one scene left me considering adoption to start my own family someday.
The ending is immensely heart wrenching, and I didn't know whether to cry tears of sorrow or joy. It is one of those movies that leaves a very lasting impression on you. However, I was left feeling a lack of resolution and character development in Saroo. Lion can be described in one word: powerful. I give it five stars.