As an adopted child, "Lion" captured it all.

Rating: 10/10 (21 February 2017)

I cannot describe how emotionally connected I felt to the story of "Lion" and its characters. I was filled with heartache the entire film and sobbed continuously with pitiful breathless whimpers until the ending credits appeared and the theatre lights turned on. No movie has ever made me feel this way.
I was adopted from China as an infant and have lived in Canada for nearly 20 years. My parents aren't Chinese, nor are my brothers or the majority of my friends. Similar to Saroo, I was raised surrounded by privilege, love, and belonging despite the obvious difference in the colour of my skin. Of course I am grateful for the life I have been given and I love my (adoptive) parents to death, but my thoughts can't help but wander... I think of my family and wonder how they are doing, how they are living, if I have siblings, if my biological parents ever think of me, and if they want me to come find them some day.
I too have felt that immense urge to find "home." I am currently learning Mandarin and am considering visiting/moving abroad when my studies and life are more stable. Some day, I will look for my parents in China. I am fully aware that my story may not have as happy of an ending as Saroo's but what if it does? What if the answers I am searching for are just around the corner and I just need to take one big step to find them?
In the scene where grown up Saroo is speaking with his adoptive mother, I felt such a genuine connection to their conversation that I cried (yet again). I promised myself that if I ever decided to have children, I would adopt. It was so heartwarming to know there are people who feel the same way I do: There are enough people in this world so why not save a child who is already born and suffering and give them the chance of a great life? I felt like the writer had taken the words out of my own head and put them in his film.
"Lion" truly is a wonderful movie, but I must admit that I was unable to properly analyze it as a film because I was such an emotional wreck. I am rating it 10 stars because as an adopted child myself, it was perfect. You may be thinking I'm over glorifying this movie because it pulled at my heartstrings, but when you see such a near reenactment of your own life on the big screen, that story becomes personal to you. Their situation (although not entirely like my own) was so much like my own. The thoughts were the same, the feelings were the same, as were the hopes, the dreams, and the fears. Everything I absorbed was spot on.
This story is remarkable, and true. I am thankful it is being told to such a large audience and in such a beautiful, compelling and real way. Saroo's life felt like my life; I am so happy for him. He found his mother and I hope someday, I will find my family too.