10/10 Would Recommend

Rating: 10/10 (10 March 2018)

With half of the film taking place in India, the movie "Lion" captures the vivid imagery of Saroo Brierley's village of Ginestalay in Khandwa, India. Spending a small snippet of his childhood life in the remote village, Saroo and his older brother, Guddu, are always traveling and playing around in their village. One day, Saroo decides to go along with Guddu to his job at the train station where he later falls asleep. Guddu tries to wake him up, but Saroo is too deep in his sleep to rise. When Saroo does wake up, Guddu is no where to be found. Searching all over the train station, Saroo desperately tries to find his brother, going even as far as accidentally boarding one of the trains, in which he ends up falling asleep again. Little did Saroo know that he boarded a train inbound to Kolkata. After several days of traveling, Saroo faces the bustling crowd of a Kolkata train station. Eventually he is placed into an orphanage where he later is adopted by a couple from Australia. Growing up with his adoptive parents in Australia, Saroo begins to question his true origins. Although finding where one explicitly originated in India through Google Earth may seem like an impossible feat, the film "Lion" undermines the impossible, not only vividly transporting the audience to Saroo Brierley's childhood in India and adopted life in Australia, but also showcasing the true, emotive story of how technology enabled him to find his way home and reunite with his biological mother in India. Under the direction of Garth Davis, with actors Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Rooney Mara, David Wenham, and Nicole Kidman, this film will truly captivate all who watch it.
This movie is worth watching because it doesn't require one to be able to understand how to speak Hindi or Bengali. It provides enough visuals in order to understand what is going on in the film. In other words, even though half of the film is spoken in Hindi and Bengali, the emotions and expressions portrayed by the actors are executed phenomenally, enabling non Hindi speakers to understand what is going on. For example, when Saroo arrives at the Kolkata train station, he yells at the top of his lungs for his brother Guddu, displaying Saroo's lostness in a mass of people at the unfamiliar train station.
Also, this film is inspirational. It sends the message that even what people deem to be an impossible task, is actually possible-that is, if you put your mind to it. Being a motivational film, as this film is based off of a true story of Saroo Brierley's experiences, it portrays that one can find where one came from through the help of services like Google. While some may say argue that not everyone needs to or has an inclination to find where they came from (having the same situation as Saroo), the film nevertheless proves to be a motivational movie. Personally, after I had watched the film, I felt as if there was a hope, that what one deems impossible can be achieved through hard work and determination. It was a refreshing feeling to have.
In addition, this film is very heartwarming as the end will almost certainly put anyone to tears (or make them somewhat teary). In the end, Saroo finally locates the village he came from and ends up flying over to Ginestalay, reuniting with his biological mother. This moment is a very intimate moment between a mother and a son as they reunite with each other after many years of being separated. If that does not evoke emotion is some people, the part when Saroo asks where Guddu is will surely make anyone's heart wrench. Even at the very end of the film, they show the actual reuniting of the actual Saroo Brierley and his mother. This added clip adds to the "realness" of the film.
This film is also worth watching because of its precise attention to detail regarding imagery. It shows how Saroo, who now is an adult, navigated Ginestalay through google earth, paying close attention to the process of his finding. As Saroo clicks through the map, he has visions of Ginestalay, retracing his steps as if he were the younger version of himself running back to his home in the village.
This film also raises awareness of the issue of poverty in India. While some may say that this film portrays India in a negative light, it actually does not as it instead informs those in the Western Hemisphere about India's condition. In other words, it alleviates ignorance as people will gain more knowledge about India's problem of poverty. This is a good thing as the exposure of India's poverty could possibly bring about change from people even all around the world who have watched the film.
For those who say that "Lion" has the same old "Slum Dog Millionaire formula," not only are they stereotyping Indian-based films, but they are also discarding the fact that "Lion" and "Slum Dog Millionaire" have two completely different plots. Further, "Lion" is based on a true story-a story that is unique to Saroo Brierley.
In conclusion, "Lion" can be encapsulated as a phenomenal, motivational, informative, and beautiful film that everyone should watch