Excellent tale of hope and determination

Rating: 8/10 (2 January 2018)

'Lion' (the reason behind the title is revealed at the end) is an amazing journey - and a true story too! Simple premise - Saroo (Pawar - one cute kid!) helps his brother, Guddu (Bharate), little sister Shekila (Solanki) and mother (Bose) to survive in the Indian poverty, when one day his brother accidentally loses him on a train station. Being only five, after travelling for two days, Saroo can't pronounce his home town correctly, so he ends up in a juvenile prison, along with thousands of other lost kids. The time spent (45min) with young Saroo builds his character and back story nicely, and displays the vibrant and bustling India.
Saroo is adopted by Sue (Kidman) & John (Wenham - needed a bit more to do) and given a great life in Hobart. They also adopt Mantosh (Ladwa) - Saroo (now Patel) grows up well-adjusted, Mantosh not so much. Saroo meets Lucy (Mara) at university in Melbourne and they fall in love. He then finally decides to search for his mother, brother and sister, which is a tough ask across the billion-plus people in India and the fact he doesn't know what region he's from.
The pacing is good - doesn't feel like a two-hour film - and I would rate this on the same level as 'Slumdog Millionaire': they both have some similarities, but quite a few differences, with Patel's charisma shining through and helping him to carry the film. The support cast is good, but he has to display the most emotion and the ending in India is beautiful. Decent score, great Indian and Tasmanian settings and a great story.