Lion - The Journey of Saroo

Rating: 7/10 (2 May 2018)

Lion is a movie that I would recommend all to watch. Compelling, enthralling and heart wrenching, this movie is one you will remember. The first third of the film was by far the best. It provided huge insight into the life of many in India. It demonstrates how poverty and danger surrounds the everyday routine of the people who live there and thus creates an emotional bond between us and the character Saroo. As an audience there is something compelling you to help him. You want him to be safe and find home, despite his failure to do so. The movie wasn't at its best when it came to the scenes 25 years after this. Saroo starts remembering his past and looking deeper into it before he tries to search for it on google maps. I thought this part wasn't as interesting and there were many parts which I thought were not needed. This was a let down considering that the first part of the movie was so amazing. However, near the end of the movie where Saroo starts having flashbacks and eventually finds his old home before travelling there, the atmosphere becomes more intense and anticipating. The end scene effectively highlighted the significance of finally finding his home and greatly stirred the emotions of the hearts of the audience. The end scene showing the real Saroo Brierley also gave this event much more meaning. Overall, Lion did contain some unnecessary scenes and in some parts I was a bit bored, but it also had some incredibly artistic scenes, often ones that tugged at your heart and was well-worth seeing.