lion family movie review

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Common sense media reviewers.

Great performances in emotional, intense biographical drama.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Positive messages about the power of family bonds,

Saroo's adoptive parents are loving, generous, and

Brief but unsettling scenes of endangered, homeles

Passionate kissing and scenes of a couple in bed (

Infrequent strong language includes "s--t," "ass,"

Google Earth is prominently displayed and a big pa

Adults drink at parties and dinners, as well as at

Parents need to know that Lion is an emotional biographical drama about Saroo Brierley, who was lost to his family in India at age 5 after ending up on a train bound more than 1,000 kilometers away from his hometown. Based on Brierley's memoir A Long Way Home , the movie chronicles how Saroo (Dev…

Positive Messages

Positive messages about the power of family bonds, how finding and understanding your past can be the key to move toward your future, and the impact of a loving family on a child. Themes include compassion, gratitude, and perseverance.

Positive Role Models

Saroo's adoptive parents are loving, generous, and supportive. They understand his need to find his birth mother. Saroo himself is persistent, compassionate, and intelligent. Saroo's biological brother was protective and caring. Lucy is an encouraging, loving girlfriend.

Violence & Scariness

Brief but unsettling scenes of endangered, homeless, presumably orphaned street children in India. In one scene, a group of kids sleeping on cardboard boxes in a public transport station is ambushed by men who take several of them away, presumably to unsafe situations. In another scene, a man inspects and touches young Saroo in an uncomfortable but not outright inappropriate way. Implied violence against children, but the disturbing consequences the children have to face isn't explored, whether it's human trafficking, sexual slavery, or something else.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Passionate kissing and scenes of a couple in bed (shirtless man, bare-shouldered woman) after implied sex. Flirting/kissing.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Infrequent strong language includes "s--t," "ass," and "damn."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Google Earth is prominently displayed and a big part of the story.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults drink at parties and dinners, as well as at home. Some cigarette smoking.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Lion is an emotional biographical drama about Saroo Brierley, who was lost to his family in India at age 5 after ending up on a train bound more than 1,000 kilometers away from his hometown. Based on Brierley's memoir A Long Way Home , the movie chronicles how Saroo ( Dev Patel ) used Google Earth to track down his birth family after a 25-year separation. Children are shown in danger -- including a disturbing scene in which homeless children are abducted as they sleep, one in which young Saroo is physically inspected in a creepy manner, and others in which he's forced to live on the streets with no shelter or food. When the action switches to Saroo's adulthood, there are scenes of implied sex (he and his girlfriend are in bed, half dressed) and passionate kissing. Adults (twentysomethings) drink at dinner parties, restaurants, and at home; there's also cigarette smoking and infrequent strong language ("s--t," "ass," etc.). And underlying everything are powerful lessons about perseverance, gratitude, family bonds, and the power of technology. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (12)
• Kids say (34)

Based on 12 parent reviews

Excellent but harrowing movie

Movie good/book better, what's the story.

LION is an incredible story based on Saroo Brierley's memoir A Long Way Home. Born in India to a poor but loving family, Saroo was lost to them at age 5 when he ended up on a train that took him more than 1,000 kilometers away from his modest hometown to the bustling streets of Calcutta. Young Saroo (Sunny Pawar) has no idea how to return to his mother and siblings, so he wanders around, homeless, skirting one tragic close call after another until he's placed into an orphanage and adopted by a loving Australian couple: John ( David Wenham ) and Sue ( Nicole Kidman ) Brierley. More than 20 years later, Saroo (now played by Dev Patel ) shares his improbable story with new friends who encourage him to use Google Earth to track down all the possible towns he might have come from. From that point on, Saroo isolates himself from his family and girlfriend, Lucy ( Rooney Mara ), to focus solely on the slim possibility of finding his biological mother and siblings.

Is It Any Good?

Be prepared to cry -- a lot -- at this wonderfully cast tearjerker about a man who searched for his birth family across a continent, with only decades-old memories to guide him. Director Garth Davis' adaptation of Brierley's memoir starts off strong, with the charming, big-eyed Pawar playing adorable young Saroo. Audiences will audibly gasp at the circumstances that lead to his separation from his family, and there will be (many) tears as he narrowly escapes the grips of people who would surely do him harm. Once Saroo is an adult, Patel takes over as a well-adjusted adoptive son who's flourished in his new family and country but then becomes obsessed with finding out where he's from and what happened to the family who must have assumed he was gone forever.

Although the beginning and the end of Lion are emotional and compelling, there's a period in the middle of the second act when all Saroo seems to do is hang out in front of his computer, searching countless train stations within a 1,000-mile radius of Calcutta. He also pushes away the people who love him -- most frustratingly, his devoted girlfriend (played beautifully by Mara). This is definitely the movie's low point, and it lasts a bit too long, but eventually everything picks up again. Wenham has little to do, but Kidman gives a fantastic supporting performance as the mother of two adopted Indian sons, one of whom (Saroo's brother) has special needs. Without completely spoiling the ending, let's just say you can expect the tears to flow freely as you witness Saroo's complicated joy, relief, and sadness at the end of his long journey.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about what makes Lion such an emotional story? Do you enjoy tearjerkers? Why do you think we sometimes seek out movies that will make us cry?

How do the characters demonstrate compassion , gratitude , and perseverance? Why are those important character strengths ?

What is the movie's message about adoption? Does it offer a positive representation of an adoptive family?

Does the inclusion of Google Earth feel artificial or vital to the story? Why is it different than a random product placement?

Movie Details

• In theaters : November 25, 2016
• On DVD or streaming : April 11, 2017
• Cast : Dev Patel , Rooney Mara , Nicole Kidman
• Director : Garth Davis
• Inclusion Information : Indian/South Asian actors, Female actors
• Studio : The Weinstein Company
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Book Characters , Brothers and Sisters , Friendship
• Character Strengths : Compassion , Gratitude , Perseverance
• Run time : 129 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : thematic material and some sensuality
• Award : Common Sense Selection
• Last updated : April 24, 2024

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Lion Parent Guide

Beautifully shot and performed, this adaption of a true story will undoubtedly be considered one of the best films of 2016..

As a five-year-old, Saroo (Sunny Pawer) was lost from his family in India. Adopted by an Australian couple (played by Nicole Kidman and David Denham), the boy grew to a man (now played by Dev Patel), yet the memories of his first family still haunted him. Against all odds, he now sets out to find his way back to his childhood home.

Release date November 25, 2016

Run Time: 120 minutes

Official Movie Site

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by donna gustafson.

Five-year-old Saroo (Sunny Pawar) begs his big brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate) to let him come along when he leaves their one-room dwelling to seek night work. As a poor family living in a small village in rural India, it is necessary for everyone to find ways to put food on the table, including doing odd jobs, begging and perhaps stealing. Normally Guddu would have said “no”, but Saroo was brave enough to help him snitch coal off a moving locomotive just a short while earlier, so the young teen agrees.

However, the late hour gets the better of Saroo, and Guddu is forced to leave the drowsy youngster on a bench at a train station. Although Guddu promises to come back for him later, he is still not there when Saroo finally wakes up. A little frightened, the child wanders around looking for his older sibling. After a while he seeks shelter inside a parked railroad car where he falls asleep again. This time when the small boy awakes he realizes the train is moving. Not able to escape the confines of the passenger carriage for two days, Saroo is inadvertently transported to the big city of Kalkata (formerly Calcutta).

As the years go by, Saroo (now played by Dev Patel) takes advantage of the world of opportunities his new life offers. Yet he is haunted by the weight of knowing his first family, especially his mother (Khushi Solanki) and brother, will still be wondering whatever happened to him. It is not until he is an adult that he sees a possible way of discovering the place of his birth – Google Earth. with only his faded childhood memories, Saroo uses the newly invented computer program to scourer the immense country of India and its maze of train tracks. The impossible task of locating his hometown quickly becomes an obsession. Soon his fixation with the past puts his present relationships at risk (including that of his caring, live-in girlfriend played by Rooney Mara) and his hopes for future happiness.

Fortunately, there are few content concerns in the heart pounding and thoughtful telling of this true story , despite the film’s PG-13 rating. Young children may be scared as they watch Saroo navigate an uncertain world where he faces veiled threats (possibly of human trafficking, slavery and sex trade work). Adopted parents and children will likely experiences various feelings as they follow Sarro’s efforts to reconnect with his birth family. And all viewers are sure to be entangled in Saroo’s quest, which reminds us of the strength of family ties and the importance of knowing one’s identity. Beautifully shot and performed, Lion will undoubtedly be considered one of the best films of 2016.

About author

Donna Gustafson

Lion rating & content info.

Why is Lion rated PG-13? Lion is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for thematic material and some sensuality.

Violence: Children risk injury when they climb aboard a moving train and steal coal. Brief non-graphic violence. A lost child is depicted as frightened, hungry and alone. Men chase and capture homeless children sleeping in a train station. Children are hit by and narrowly escape being hit by fast-moving vehicles. A child steals food and eats scraps of garbage. Authority figures are depicted as unhelpful. Adults take advantage of a child’s vulnerability and trust when they promise help but appear to have other motives (these are never clearly explained but human trafficking, slavery and sex trade work seem to be possibilities). A corpse is seen. An orphanage appears crowed and dirty, and disruptive children are treated unkindly. An emotionally disturbed child fights with caring adults. Parents deal with sorrow because of their children’s decisions.

Sexual Content: An unmarried couple kiss and embrace passionately, are shown in bed partially dressed (sexual relations are implied) and live together. A boy’s bare chest is seen when he takes a bath.

Profanity: Terms of deity are used as expletives.

Alcohol / Drug Use: Characters are seen smoking. Alcohol is drunk in social settings and parties, as well as by characters who are distressed and worried. It is implied a character is dealing with drug and alcohol addictions.

Other: Holy men and pilgrims worship at the shrine of a god.

Page last updated July 17, 2017

Lion Parents' Guide

What reason might there be for a couple to adopt children from another country? What was the reason Saroo’s mother adopted him? What risks are involved in taking in children who might experience cultural differences and/or emotionally scarring memories? What are the rewards?

How was Saroo’s early childhood different than those experienced by youngsters growing up in a first world country? How might the extra responsibility and independence of his poor rural home have helped him when he found himself alone in strange city? Although his situation was very unusual, what information or skills might be helpful for children to know if they were to become separated from their family?

Google Earth provides photographs of much of the planet’s surface and allows users to explore the world. How does this amazing tool help Saroo? What might you be able to do with this computer application?

News About "Lion"

This movie is based on A Long Walk Home , by Saroo Brierley .

The most recent home video release of Lion movie is April 11, 2017. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: Lion Release Date: 11 April 2017 Lion releases to home video (Blu-ray/Digital HD) with the following special features: - Deleted Scenes - Behind the Scenes Gallery - “Never Give Up” Official Lyric Video performed by Sia

Related home video titles:

Dev Patel also stars in Slumdog Millionaire , the tale of another Indian orphan. The biblical story of Moses (depicted in The Ten Commandments and Prince of Egypt ) tells of a child separated from his birth family and raised by a different one. Dickens’ classic Oliver Twist features a street boy who eventually finds his real grandfather.

Related news about Lion

Family Films Opening During the 2016 Holiday Movie Season

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Oscars 2017 So PG-13… Finally!

2016 Winners of the Critics’ Choice Awards

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Lion 's undeniably uplifting story and talented cast make it a moving journey that transcends the typical cliches of its genre.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Garth Davis

Saroo Brierley

Rooney Mara

David Wenham

John Brierley

Nicole Kidman

Sue Brierley

Abhishek Bharate

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Lion is an inspirational true story even a film snob could love

Saroo Brierley’s story is almost unbelievable, and the movie does it justice.

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Saroo Brierley’s story is exhibit A for "you can’t make this stuff up": As a 5-year-old born in a small village in India, Saroo was accidentally separated from his family and, eventually, brought to an orphanage in Calcutta, from which he was adopted by an Australian couple. As an adult, he found them again, partly with the help of Google Earth .

It sounds like the machinations of a product-placement genius, but it actually happened. Brierley wrote about his life story in his memoir, A Long Way Home , and now it’s been turned into Lion.

The Hollywood temptation in adapting material like Brierley’s life for the screen is to make a fairly standard inspirational movie about the power of the human spirit. Lion has all those things, but director Garth Davis , working with a screenplay by Luke Davies , pulls off something much better. Lion is moving, beautifully shot, and clear-eyed about its aims. It’s the kind of inspirational movie even a film snob could love.

Lion is based on a true, incredible story

As the film opens, tiny Saroo (the outstanding Sunny Pawar ) lives with his beloved mother, younger sister, and older brother Guddu ( Abhishek Bharate ), whom he idolizes. His mother is a day laborer, and the family subsists near the edge of poverty.

One day, after much begging from Saroo, Guddu brings him along on a trek to find work and tells him to stay on a bench at a railway station while he sorts out some details. Saroo drops off to sleep, but when he wakes up, Guddu has not returned. While looking for his brother, Saroo accidentally ends up on an empty passenger train that begins moving, and goes on for days.

Saroo, who only speaks Hindi, ends up in a part of India where the dominant language is Bengali. Lost, alone, and vulnerable, he navigates the city, trying to find his way back — but of course he has no idea how, and nobody recognizes the name he gives for his home village.

Eventually, after dodging a number of people with bad designs on him, Saroo ends up in an orphanage in Calcutta. The Brierleys, a kind couple from Australia ( Nicole Kidman and David Wenham ), adopt him and, a year later, another boy named Mantosh. Saroo adjusts well to his new life; Mantosh, who is more emotionally disturbed, does not.

The movie then jumps forward 20 years to 2008, and Saroo (now played by Dev Patel ), all grown up, embarks on a course of study in hospitality management. He meets and falls in love with an American girl, Lucy ( Rooney Mara ), who is also in the program. The course attracts a number of international students, including Indians, and while at dinner with them one night, Saroo has an experience that resurfaces feelings he’s long buried about his lost family.

That sends him on a quest to find his mother and siblings — but because he doesn’t even know the name of his home village, and because his mother was illiterate and thus left no paper trail, it’s virtually impossible. He takes to Google Earth to see if he can find a railway station that matches his memory. The search becomes an obsession.

Lion eventually becomes a conventional inspirational drama, but it earns it

The stickiest narrative point that Lion has to navigate is the matter of international adoption, especially white families adopting brown children, which brings with it a whole wicket of ethical issues, from white savior complexes to families unprepared for their children’s emotional challenges to kidnappings .

But Lion handles it well. The Brierleys are kind, patient, and committed to their children, but the movie doesn’t shy away from the challenges both Saroo and Mantosh face, even as adults. Trauma isn’t something that just goes away because a child is removed from its source.

Lion is interested in how cultural identities — especially in a globalized world — shape us in indelible ways, getting into our bones even when we think we’ve shed them. But it’s also about bonds of love that stretch across time and mental space. Saroo’s search for his family is motivated by the feeling that they’re searching for him, and love that won’t let go. (Thus, it’s a perfect film for teens and adults to see together during the holidays.)

However, the movie’s best section is its first act, in which 5-year-old Saroo is alone and defenseless. For long stretches, Saroo is quiet and disconnected, unable to even understand the people around him. Shot with restraint and beauty (but without either aestheticizing or fetishizing poverty), it’s effective because it puts us in Saroo’s shoes, understanding the dangers through a 5-year-old’s perspective. Playing young Saroo, Pawar’s face is full of expression, both innocent and, eventually, streetwise.

This section has more in common with neorealism than anything else — it’s almost impressionistic. That impressionism resurfaces later, when as an adult, Saroo begins to dream of his family, and the film works hard, and effectively, to convey his mental and emotional state. So when the film inevitably dips into the swelling music and emotion that belongs to a more conventional "inspirational" drama, it doesn’t feel overblown. We’ve been there with Saroo, and we’re as hungry to come home as he is.

Lion opens in theaters on November 25.

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Film Review: ‘Lion’

Dev Patel stars as an Indian orphan who uses Google Earth to find his way back home in Garth Davis' directorial debut.

By Peter Debruge

Peter Debruge

Chief Film Critic

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Everybody loves a group hug. Next to the freeze-frame of Angela Lansbury grinning after she’s solved another “Murder, She Wrote” case, it’s pretty much the most satisfying ending anyone can hope for. “Lion” ends in a group hug — two, if you count the real-life embrace that follows the reenacted one just before the credits — and that’s fantastic news for the cash-strapped Weinstein Co., which needs a feel-good crowd-pleaser like nobody’s business. After “Lion” makes its millions, someone else can make a movie about how Google Earth saved the struggling indie distributor. And it can end with a shot of Harvey Weinstein, Saroo Brierley (the “Lion” himself), and director Garth Davis giving one another a big group hug at the Oscars.

But let’s get serious: The story of how 5-year-old Saroo was tragically separated from his family, wound up adopted by an Aussie couple on a completely different continent, and managed to find his birth mother 25 years later using Google Earth might be a happy one, but it’s barely meaty enough to wrap the evening news, let alone sustain a two-hour feature. While unique, Saroo’s story is somewhere between the-guy-who-found-a-lottery-scratcher-worth-fifty-bucks and the-farmer-who-prayed-for-rain-and-got-it. Such feel-good yarns are only as interesting as the person they happened to.

Fortunately for Davis, he’s got a terrific cast, chief among them the pair of charismatic actors who split the lead role: First, newcomer Sunny Pawar wins us over as 5-year-old Saroo, who’s so adorable he could set off an Indian adoption craze (which would suit the humanitarian-minded filmmakers just fine), then “Slumdog Millionaire” star Dev Patel steps in to play the less interesting chapter, as the young man turns to the internet to research where he’s from. But the movie surrounds these two with Nicole Kidman as Saroo’s adoptive mother, Rooney Mara as his Indian food-loving girlfriend, and Priyanka Bose as the mum he left behind (her smile so lovely she could pass for Rosario Dawson’s South Asian sister). Meanwhile, Google Earth plays itself.

Popular on Variety

Davis, a commercials director whose reel includes Toyota’s “Ninja Kittens” spot, would be a natural to boil Saroo’s story down to a tear-jerking 60 seconds (even if this material sounds like an extended promo for the one company that needs it least). In 2013, Davis collaborated with Jane Campion on the miniseries “Top of the Lake,” which suggests that he could probably also stretch Saroo’s narrative across four more hours. “Lion” marks his much-anticipated feature debut, previously pegged to be an adaptation of Gregory David Roberts’ 900-page “Shantaram,” and it’s practically the opposite of that project in every way: “Shantaram” tells of an Australian criminal at large in India, whereas “Lion” describes an Indian kid who discovers his identity Down Under.

With only the leanest wisp of a plot to guide him, screenwriter Luke Davies expands Saroo’s ordeal into a full-blown hero’s journey — like “Life of Pi,” with a flesh-and-blood “lion” in place of a CG tiger. Tagging along with his brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate) one night, Saroo falls asleep on a decommissioned train, which travels some 1,600 miles before letting him disembark in Calcutta. There, everyone speaks Bengali, rather than Saroo’s Hindi dialect, making it doubly intimidating for a boy so far-removed from his family. Davis ensures that we understand even less of Saroo’s surroundings than he does, which makes his first impressions of Calcutta — sleeping on cardboard, only to be awakened by a child-snatching mob, or else invited home by a sari-clad woman, who tries to pawn him off to a lecherous middleman — seem as dark and intimidating as Pinocchio’s visit to Pleasure Island. As if there was ever any doubt, Davis clearly wants his audience to appreciate how tough it is to be homeless in India, presenting us with a funeral procession and images of scavenging through garbage dumps for anything to eat.

When a benevolent stranger brings Saroo to the local police station, the boy asks for his mother, but doesn’t know enough — not her name, nor that of the village from which he came — to find his way home, and so he is delivered to an orphanage, and shortly thereafter, shipped out to Tasmania, where he’s adopted by John and Sue Brierley (played by David Wenham, who’d worked with Davis on “Top of the Lake,” and Kidman, looking just about as unglamorous as she can). Considering everything he’s been through, Saroo is an ideal child — a judgment made clear by the arrival of a second Indian boy, the deeply unhappy Mantosh, into the household.

At this point, nearly an hour into the narrative, the film skips forward 20 years, picking up with Saroo’s relocation to Melbourne, where he plans to study hotel management, but instead finds himself distracted with “dead ends” about his identity. He gets emotional support from girlfriend Lucy (Mara), who at one point looks as though she may break out into a Bollywood dance number, but when it comes to answering seemingly impossible questions, that’s what Google is for. And so, like any good stalker, Saroo pins clues to a giant bulletin board and begins crawling the web for clues to his past. Except, anyone going in to “Lion” already knows how Saroo’s predicament turns out, which makes this agonizingly suspense-free process feel as if it’s taking far longer than it should.

It would almost be more interesting to tell his story from the point of view of the Google Earth engineers — say, one who had turned suicidal after months of coding for the Silicon Valley monolith, only to discover what good he was doing in the world — or else from the perspective of Saroo’s birth mother, who didn’t have Google (or even a computer) but spent years searching for her lost son. Davies’ script is noteworthy in its sensitivity, which Davis further enhances through his elegant, deeply empathetic approach (heightened by gorgeous widescreen cinematography, much of it offering hi-res flyover shots clearly designed to evoke the heroic tool), but as a portrait of persistence, it paradoxically suggests that Saroo managed to go two decades without thinking much about his mother, only to become obsessed with finding her at just the moment the technology made that possible. And so, for the feature debut of an acclaimed commercials director, “Lion” seems awfully brazen advertising its deux ex machina right there in its logline, and though the human story is what makes it so compelling, “advertising” remains the operative word. Next up: How Siri helped you find your car keys.

Reviewed at Toronto Film Festival (Special Presentations), Sept. 10, 2016. Running time: 121 MINS.

• Production: A Weinstein Company release, presented in association with Screen Australia, of a See-Saw Films production, in association with Aquarius Films, Sunstar Entertainment. Producers: Emile Sherman, Iain Canning, Angie Fielder. Executive producers: Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, David C. Glasser, Andrew Fraser, Shahen Mekertichian, Daniel Levin.
• Crew: Director: Garth Davis. Screenplay: Luke Davies, based on the book “A Long Way Home” by Saroo Brierley. Camera (color, widescreen): Greig Fraser. Editor: Alexandre de Franceschi.
• With: Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, David Wenham, Nicole Kidman, Abhishek Bharate, Divian Ladwa, Priyanka Bose, Deepti Naval, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sunny Pawar. (English, Bengali, Hindi dialogue)

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Review: ‘Lion’ Brings Tears for a Lost Boy, Wiped Dry by Google

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By A.O. Scott

• Nov. 24, 2016

The first part of “Lion,” Garth Davis’s unabashedly tear-jerking movie about a remarkable real-world incident, has some of the scary, wondrous feeling of a fairy tale. The audience is invited to imagine a long-ago time — 1986, to be precise — before social media or smartphones or Google. In those days, a person could get lost, which is just what happens to a little boy named Saroo (Sunny Pawar), who accidentally travels more than 1,000 miles from his home in central India to the streets of Calcutta.

Saroo’s mother (Priyanka Bose) is a laborer in a poor village. He and his beloved older brother, Guddu (Abhishek Bharate), supplement her meager wages with whatever casual work they can find. In the first scene, they are scavenging lumps of coal to exchange for milk at the market. Later, Saroo follows Guddu to a railroad station, where the younger boy accidentally boards an out-of-service train that takes him to a city full of strangers who speak a different language.

With minimal dialogue and graceful editing, Mr. Davis and the screenwriter Luke Davies convey the Dickensian dimensions of Saroo’s situation. He is small and vulnerable, but also smart and resourceful, and even as he is exposed to horrifying cruelty, he is also a hero on an adventure. The enormous pain of his loss is sometimes mitigated by the excitement of discovery. You fear for him, and also root for him, and mostly you are captivated by his story and the sophisticated simplicity of its telling.

What happens in the second part of the movie is a little more complicated. Saroo (now played by Dev Patel ) has grown to manhood as the adopted son of an Australian couple, John and Sue Brierley (David Wenham and Nicole Kidman). He has a brother, Mantosh (Divian Ladwa), who was also adopted from India and has mental health and substance-abuse problems. Despite that, Saroo seems to be living in the happily-ever-after stage of the fairy tale. He moves to Melbourne to study hotel management and falls in love with a fellow student, Lucy (Rooney Mara), from America.

But memories of his long-ago life haunt him, and the arrival of new technology raises the tantalizing possibility of a return to his first home. Using Google Earth, Saroo sets out to retrace, on the computer screen and on sheets of paper tacked to his bedroom wall, his accidental journey. It’s not a fast or easy process, and the effort takes an emotional toll on him, on his parents and on Lucy. But you know, even if you’re not familiar with the true story behind “Lion,” that the fairy tale will come true.

Mr. Davis, with strong assistance from a cast of dignified, charismatic criers and the music of Hauschka and Dustin O’Halloran, floods the viewer with big feelings. If you have ever been a child, raised a child, lost a child or met a child — or a mother — this movie will wreck you. As a purely emotional experience it succeeds without feeling too manipulative or maudlin. I mean, it is manipulative and maudlin, but in a way that seems fair and transparent.

Still, it isn’t quite satisfying. The transition from the young to the grown-up Saroo demands a shift in tone and genre that “Lion” doesn’t quite achieve. What felt in the first part like wonderful, Spielbergian simplicity feels, in the latter sections, like simplification. There isn’t enough of the rough texture of family life or the complications of young love to give the older Saroo a full identity. The movie hovers on the edge of going deeper into his psychological predicament but holds itself back.

At the end, the focus shifts from the agonies of Saroo to the glories of Google. I can’t complain too much about that; for all I know, Google brought you to this review. But I also can’t help feeling a dystopian chill amid all the warm don’t-be-evil fuzzies, a hint of corporate propaganda behind the fable. It is indeed remarkable how small the world has become, how many problems data can solve, how connected we all are to one another. But we’ve lost something, too, and we can’t even see what it is.

“Lion” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned) for sex and profanity. Running time: 1 hour 59 minutes.

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Lion Is Inspirational Storytelling Done Right

Garth Davis’s debut film adapts the true-life story of Saroo Brierley, who reconnected with his Indian birth family through Google Earth.

The bizarre, true story of Saroo Brierley’s life—an odyssey from India to Australia and back—feels totemic, like something an ancient poet might sing of. As a boy, Brierley was torn from his family through a series of unfortunate coincidences and taken into a new and loving home, only to, decades later, chart his way back to a place he’d basically forgotten. But Brierley’s story is also a distinctly modern epic: a hero’s journey where Google Earth is a magical pathfinder, a tale of family that seriously explores how adoption can muddle notions of racial identity.

In adapting Brierley’s life for the new film Lion , the director Garth Davis wisely avoids adding dramatic embellishments to a narrative whose premise already sounds like awards-season material. But Brierley’s separation from his birth family, and his journey home, is almost too extraordinary to be fiction. Davis manages to keep hold of that authenticity throughout the movie, grounding its most absurd twists and turns with texture and detail, and never succumbing to the gauzy sentimentality that can pervade “human interest” yarns. Lion isn’t an especially innovative movie , but as a piece of inspirational storytelling, it’s a standout.

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The film’s first (and best) act, which follows Brierley’s journey from India to Australia as a 5-year-old boy, is equal parts mesmerizing and terrifying. On an excursion with his brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate) from his small town to a nearby rail station, Saroo (the adorable Sunny Pawar) gets separated from him and climbs onto a train car by mistake. The train, and Saroo, is then taken almost a thousand miles across the country to Kolkata, where he doesn’t speak the local language and begins to walk the streets with other lost children. When he tells authorities the name of his hometown, he receives baffled shrugs. Eventually, he’s taken to an orphanage and flown to Tasmania, Australia, where a well-meaning couple (played by David Wenham and Nicole Kidman) raises him in relative comfort.

Davis, who collaborated with Jane Campion on the wonderful BBC miniseries Top of the Lake , doesn’t frame Saroo as a statistic (India has more than 30 million orphans , a vast majority of them girls). The film repeatedly cuts back to Saroo’s memories of his mother and brother, including vague, dreamlike bird’s-eye photography of his hometown. Davis wants the viewer to understand the profundity of the images lodged in Saroo’s brain, even as he gets older and the recollections grow fuzzier. The unusual, accidental circumstances of his “abandonment” help keep his hope alive. As Saroo later tells his friends, he’s a lost boy, rather than a rejected one.

As a grown-up, Saroo (played now by Dev Patel) is handsome, if brooding, and his Indian roots have been all but erased by an adolescence with the Brierleys. He has a brother, also adopted from India, who never adjusted as well to his new home and wears that trauma openly. Saroo is much more good-natured, but the cracks in his self-image start to show; when he meets a group of Indian students in college, he can’t relate to them culturally, though when they serve him jalebi , a sweet snack he remembers from his childhood, he freezes in painful recognition.

It’s not easy to dramatize the loss of cultural identity, but Davis and Patel succeed (with the help of Luke Davies’ script) by rendering Saroo’s internal conflict with subtlety. In the slower mid-section of the film, Saroo doesn’t take his frustrations out on the people around him, nor does he actively vocalize his confusion. Overall, he’s happy with his life while knowing that there’s a giant piece of the puzzle missing.  Saroo’s girlfriend (Lucy, played by Rooney Mara, who does her best with an underwritten role) eventually encourages him to seek out his birth family, and he uses Google Earth to try and track down the town he’s from, though the name he remembers appears on no map.

It’s perhaps no surprise that Lion builds to an emotional conclusion; Brierley’s story, which he recounted in his autobiography A Long Way Home , received the Oscar-fodder treatment for a reason. It’s toward the end where Davis leans hardest on the “inspirational drama” tropes, but they’re well-earned by solid performances and the director’s attention to nuance. The film’s finale might feel a tad familiar, but Lion is ultimately an excellent example of its type—a resonant true story told, not with manipulative cliches, but with refreshing confidence.

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• DVD & Streaming

Content Caution

In Theaters

• December 25, 2016
• Dev Patel as Saroo; Rooney Mara as Lucy; Sunny Pawar as young Saroo; Abhishek Bharate as Guddu; Priyanka Bose as Kamla; Nicole Kidman as Sue Brierley; David Wenham as John Brierley; Divian Ladwa as Mantosh

Home Release Date

• April 11, 2017
• Garth Davis

Distributor

• The Weinstein Company

Movie Review

Home is more than four walls and a roof. It’s more than where you sleep, eat, wash your hair. There’s something spiritual about home, something impossible to define yet impossible to replace. And even when you leave that home, a bit of it follows you wherever you go.

For 5-year-old Saroo, home isn’t so much a place as a collection of people. His mother. His older brother, Guddu. His tiny baby sister. They make up Saroo’s whole life, part of everything he knows. Every day he and Guddu dive into a broader world beyond, that of rural India, stealing bits of coal to sell for bits of milk. Every night he comes home for a smile, a laugh, a bit of hurried dinner before his mother and brother dive back into the dark, working to provide for the family.

One night, like most nights, Saroo begs his brother to let him come along. Guddu, like most nights, refuses.

“You’re too small to lift bales,”

“I can lift anything ,” Saroo protests. He hoists a bicycle off the ground to prove it, his tiny biceps straining at the effort.

Guddu relents. “OK, fine,” he says. And so they tromp off into the night. Before long, Guddu’s carrying little Saroo in his arms, the little boy too tired to stay awake. When the two boys arrive at their town’s small train depot, Guddu gently places the boy on a bench, realizing that it was a mistake to bring him along. Guddu will go on alone.

“You wait here,” Guddu tells Saroo, the little boy’s eyelids weighted with sleep. “You don’t go anywhere.”

Saroo sleeps. When he wakes up, it’s the dead of night and the depot is deserted. “Guddu!” Saroo calls. He begins to wander. He slinks onto a train, where long years of poverty have taught him to hunt under seats for loose change, crusts of bread, anything that might be of use. But the work is tiring and tedious. Soon, Saroo slumps into another seat and dozes off again.

When he wakes up, the little boy feels the train move and rock beneath him. He looks out the window, sees the green and brown of India zipping past.

Panic. Terror. Saroo screams for Guddu, for Mum. They don’t answer. No one does. The train is decommissioned, deserted. He’s alone. And this huge, metallic snake slithers through the countryside, carrying him farther and farther away from home.

Finally, the snake slides into Calcutta. Saroo’s a thousand miles from where he started, though he can’t know that. He begins asking for help. But when people ask him his mother’s name, he only knows “Mum.” When he tells them where he thinks he’s from— Ganestalay —no one has ever heard of it. He doesn’t even know what direction he came from, what train he took. Saroo is lost, hopelessly lost, in a land of strangers who care very little about the fate of a 5-year-old boy.

Home is more than a place. It’s people , and Saroo has lost all that home is.

Positive Elements

Saroo may not be able to, as he brags, lift everything . But what he lacks in stature and toughness, he more than makes up in emotional durability. Saroo survives his first night in Calcutta … and many, many nights afterward. Along the way, he gets a bit of help to find a better place—first from a kindly man at a café, who notices the urchin mimicking his every move; then from a skilled care worker, who goes on to place Saroo with Australians John and Sue Brierley.

The Brierleys adopt Saroo and give him a new home, one filled with televisions and refrigerators and even a boat. They care deeply for Saroo as well as their other adopted child, Mantosh. But While Mantosh is a troubled boy (who grows into a troubled man), Saroo returns his new family’s love and becomes a source of constant pride.

“From the moment you came into our lives, you were all that we could’ve hoped for,” says Sue.

But when a now-adult Saroo goes off to a multinational hotel management school, he begins to feel the insistent, unquenchable pull of his birth home—to find his mother and brother again. And given the circumstances in which he left them, Saroo’s search is completely understandable.

[ Spoiler Warning ] But Saroo keeps his search secret from his adoptive parents. He later says he hid it from them because he didn’t want them to feel as though he was “ungrateful,” or that he didn’t love them as much as his birth family. But when he does eventually tell them, they’re incredibly supportive. “I really hope she’s there,” Sue tells Saroo. “She needs to see how beautiful you are.”

Spiritual Elements

India is a place of incredibly diverse spiritual beliefs. In Saroo’s hometown, we hear what sounds like an Islamic call to prayer. In Calcutta, we see evidence of Hinduism.

Little Saroo stumbles across a Hindu idol surrounded by offerings. He clasps his hands in front of the idol, as if asking for pre-emptive forgiveness, and takes a bit of food left before the idol. People pray in temples, and Saroo runs across what almost seems like a religiously tinged opium den, where men surrounded by candles seem to be either in a stupor or asleep. He’s introduced to a man named Rama, who clarifies that he’s “not the god.” (Rama is revered as the seventh avatar, or incarnation, of the Hindu god Vishnu.)

While the religious affiliation of the Brierleys is never explicitly detailed, there are occasional hints that Saroo’s adoptive parents are Christians. Sue talks about how “blessed” their family has been. And she talks about a “vision” of seeing a “brown-skinned child” across a field when she was 12. “That was the first time in my life that I felt something good,” she says. “I felt good. And I knew it was guiding me, and I knew it was going to be fine.”

A deceased Indian child is said to be “with God.”

Sexual Content

As an adult, Saroo meets a fellow hotel-management student named Lucy, with whom he has a sexual relationship. They’re shown kissing and in bed together, clearly in a prelude to sex. It’s suggested that they’re both unclothed in their bedtime interludes, though nothing critical is shown. Saroo and Lucy appear to live together for a time, and he takes her home to meet his parents.

The disturbing threat of sexual trafficking lurks throughout Saroo’s childhood. After he gets lost, he’s seemingly befriended by a young woman who tells him she’s going to introduce him to Rama. “He is a very good man,” the woman assures him. “He helps everyone. He will help you, too.” When Rama comes, he seems nice enough, even as he stares at the boy and asks him to lie down with him for a moment. “I want to take you to a really nice place,” he promises, “And from there we’re going to look for your Mum.” But when he’s alone with the woman, Rama says instead, “You’ve done well. He’s exactly what they’re looking for.” Saroo becomes suspicious and runs away.

In an orphanage later, a mentally ill boy, who’s terrified, gets dragged away by guards in the middle of the night. Why? It’s unclear, but the boy seems to know and fear what’s coming, and I wonder whether perhaps his troubles stem from what happens during these midnight abductions.

Violent Content

We sometimes see people, both adults and children, try to harm themselves, hitting their own heads against walls or on tables or with their own fists. Saroo’s adoptive brother, Mantosh, throws a violent fit his first day with the Brierleys. And we get a sense that Mantosh’s childhood was filled with similar tantrums, perhaps brought on by his own past demons.

Street urchins are roughly rounded up by security guards. Saroo almost gets hit by a bus. We hear about a child who was struck by a train.

Crude or Profane Language

We hear one misuse of God’s name.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Mantosh appears to be a drug addict. Sue frets at one point that after finishing a temporary job, Mantosh will be “flush with cash” and “back on the hard stuff.”

People smoke cigarettes. Characters drink wine, champagne and beer in various scenes. We learn that Sue’s father was an alcoholic.

Other Negative Elements

Little Saroo and Guddu steal to help feed their family.

There are also some difficult, conflicting messages offered about the adoption of people like Saroo—messages that may bother some viewers. But those messages are used to illustrate the much more positive message that Lion eventually lands on, which I’ll unpack more below.

What is home? What is family? These are questions that nearly tear Saroo apart. He loves his Australian parents, and he’s deeply grateful for everything they’ve given him. But memories of his past—the mother and brother that he mistakenly, unwillingly left—pull at him incessantly.

Saroo imagines the fear and horror they must’ve felt when he disappeared, the sadness that perhaps they experienced every day he wasn’t with them. He wonders whether that home—the home he left in India—might be his real home after all. He wonders if Guddu, not the troubled Mantosh, is his real brother. And as much as he loves his Australian mother and father, as grateful he feels toward them for all they’ve given him, he wonders whether his relationship with them is simply a substitute for the bond Sue and John longed for with the biological children they didn’t have.

“I’m sorry you couldn’t have your own kids,” Saroo one day blurts.

“What are you saying?” Sue asks, in disbelief and perhaps a hint of horror.

“We weren’t blank pages, were we?” Saroo says. “You weren’t just adopting us, but our pasts as well. I feel like we’re killing you.”

“I could’ve had kids,” Sue reveals. “We chose not to have kids. … We wanted the two of you. That’s what we wanted. We wanted the two of you in our lives.”

Saroo woefully, almost tragically, misunderstands the nature of adoption—the beautiful bond between mother and child, biological or adopted. Saroo thinks Sue and John saw him as a bargain-basement substitute for a “real” son. And for a while, he sees Sue and John as substitutes—gracious, wonderful substitutes, perhaps, but substitutes all the same—for his “real” mother.

But the concept of home and family isn’t something solely based on blood, Lion shows us. It’s about care and memory and intentionality and, most of all, love. And love is something that the Brierelys shower upon Saroo—even though he doesn’t fully comprehend their motive for doing so.

Though the film doesn’t connect the dots between the Brierleys’ affection-filled adoption of Saroo and God, the jump isn’t a big one to make. Whether parents are able to have their own children or not is beside the point: Adoption is never a backup plan. Rather, adoption is God’s plan—a plan to bring people together in a sacred collection … a collection we call home .

Lion is a gripping, moving, inspiring film that’s high in heart and relatively low in content. While there are moments of sexuality, tension and sometimes troubling family relations, the movie’s characters find themselves and each other. And, in so doing, they inspire those who watch their stories unfold—especially Saroo’s lionhearted journey.

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

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"Beautiful, Emotional Family Drama"

What You Need To Know:

(BB, FR, Pa, V, S, N, AA, DD, M) Strong moral, pro-family worldview includes one person says a character has died and is now with God and themes of honoring one’s parents, about a boy who gets lost on a train across India 1600 miles away from his biological mother and siblings, with a scene where hungry lost boy pauses before a Hindu shrine and appears to pray briefly silently before taking some of the food offerings, and a man tells boy his name is Rama, but he’s not the god; no foul language; light violence such as two boys jump onto and off a train, a little boy carrying a watermelon is grazed by a passing motorcycle leaving a cut on his head, troubled young man hits his head repeatedly when his adoptive brother harshly condemns his behavior at dinner; implied fornication between couple in three scenes where they lie together in bed, with some light kissing in one scene, and man caresses sleeping woman’s hand in a second scene; some images of upper male nudity; family drinks wine at dinner, party scene with drinking, and drunkenness in one scene; protagonist’s adoptive brother smokes and there’s a reference to him “getting back on the hard stuff”; and, young boys steal coal to provide for their impoverished family, woman says she was inspired to adopt children from India when she had a vision as a young girl, men kidnap a group of children trying to sleep in a subway, but the young protagonist escapes, and apparent predator says little boy is exactly what “they” want but the boy escapes and runs away.

More Detail:

LION is the emotional true story of an Indian man who got lost as a child on a train across India and is adopted by two loving parents in Tasmania. LION is a simple yet incredible story with very powerful, inspiring scenes, with little objectionable content, but the protagonist lives with his girlfriend, so there are three scenes of them waking up in bed together as the man becomes obsessed with trying to locate his birth mother.

The movie opens with adorable 5-year-old Saroo and his older brother, Guddu, climbing aboard a moving train to steal some coal to provide for their impoverished mother and sister. One day Saroo convinces Guddu to take him with him when Guddu has to go away for a week to work as a night laborer. At a train station, Guddu disappears for five minutes to find work and tells Saroo to wait for him on a bench. Saroo nods off. When he wakes up, Guddu hasn’t returned, so Saroo gets aboard a decommissioned train to look for Guddu. Saroo falls asleep again, and the train takes him 1600 miles east to Calcutta.

Sleeping on the streets and taking food from a Hindu shrine, Saroo runs away from some men kidnapping children. He also runs away from a nefarious couple that seems to befriend Saroo but act suspiciously. Eventually, a young businessman takes pity on Saroo and brings him to the police, who take him to a state-run orphanage full of hundreds of street children and orphans.

Saroo gets adopted by a white couple in Tasmania, John and Sue. A year later, they adopt another boy from India named Mantosh, but he doesn’t fit in as well as Saroo.

Twenty years later, Saroo attends some courses for hotel management. He falls in love with a young woman named Lucy. One night, at a party with some other friends from India, Saroo notices a pastry that brings him back to his travels with his brother. Saroo breaks down, and his friends learn about his story of getting separated from his brother and losing track of his mother. They encourage him to use Google Earth photos to try to find the hometown where he lived. However, Saroo becomes obsessed with his search, which threatens to ruin his life. He’s also miscalculated the mileage of the train which took him away.

So, the question becomes, will Saroo ever find his mother and family?

Based on a true story, LION is a beautifully made, extremely emotional and inspiring story. The ending is very powerful. Newcomer Sunny Pawar almost steals the whole show as young Saroo. However, Dev Patel also delivers an excellent performance as the older Saroo. Rooney Mara as Lucy and Nicole Kidman as Saroo’s adopted mother are also effective in a superb ensemble cast.

LION has a strong moral, pro-family worldview overall. Saroo is moved to find his mother and brother mostly out of concern for them. He not only honors his biological mother, but also the married couple that adopts him. Happily, LION has no foul language, but Saroo lives with his girlfriend. During the search for his family, he’s seen waking up three times next to her. Also, his adopted brother is a troubled young man, and there is brief mention in one scene that he’s back on the “hard stuff.” Finally, there is a positive reference to being with God in the afterlife, but in a generic way. The only overt references to Hinduism are when Saroo takes the food from the Hindu shrine, and when a minor character mentions that his name, Rama, is the same as the name of a Hindu god.

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How 'Lion' explores identity, belonging and cultural heritage

20 Jan 2017 BY Kirsten Geekie in Film Features

An unimaginable true story brought to life,  Lion   is an affecting yet life-affirming human drama about a young Indian boy who finds himself thousands of miles from home. Separated from his family for more than 25 years, the boy eventually attempts to find his way back home to his birth mother.

Lion (2016)

105 reviews

Drama based on the true story of a young Indian boy who gets lost from his family and, many years later as an adult, retraces his steps to find them.

Age group 11+ years

Duration 118 mins

As a young boy, Saroo and his family lived in a rural village in northern India. Reduced to stealing coal to exchange for food with locals, his older brother Guddu would often head to a neighbouring town to find work. One evening, five year-old Saroo followed Guddu and waited for him to finish at the train station. While waiting, he wandered into an empty train and fell asleep, only to awaken with the train in motion, hurtling him far away from home. Terminating more than 1,500 miles away in Kolkata - a strange, frantic city, whose language he didn't speak - Saroo is lost in a seemingly hopeless situation. Narrowly avoiding being kidnapped, and with no paper trail or family name, he ended up in a local orphanage, from where he was eventually adopted by a couple in Australia, starting a new life on another continent.

The first feature film from Australian director Garth Davis, Lion is a film of two halves. Opening with the little boy's alarming journey into the dangerous melee of Kolkata, the first act immerses you in Saroo's experience. Alone and bewildered, the camera stays close to him, following him up and down the train as he screams for help. Deposited in Kolkata, the camera then draws out, revealing his small, vulnerable body set agains the huge crowds and unfamiliar landscapes of the big city. Overlooked and unable to ask for help (Saroo speaks Hindi, while the language in Kolkata is Bengali) he is destined to become one of the many street urchins that inhabit the city's alleyways and archways. Reminiscent of  Slumdog Millionaire 's frenzied, heady depiction of the slums of Mumbai, Lion  puts you right there with Saroo, navigating the dark, murky underbelly of the city. 

Incredibly, Saroo survives the streets, and is sent to live with an adoptive family in Australia. Travelling to his new home in Tasmania, the film allows you a sigh of relief as the camera gently lingers on scenes of Saroo safe in the hands of his new adopted parents, mutely coming to terms with his new life. As he settles in, Saroo is joined by Mantosh, another Indian boy, who becomes Saroo's adopted brother. However, Mantosh struggles to assimilate to his new surroundings as comfortably as Saroo.

Where the first half of the film follows Saroo as a young boy, tossed around by the hands of fate, the second half transitions to 25 years later, with Saroo a university student in Australia. As an adult, Saroo is embracing the next phase of his life, with memories of his time in India lying dormant. Until, that is, at a party, when the smell of freshly made Jalebi - an Indian sweet - triggers old memories. This leads to a discussion of family and identity that comes to govern Saroo's journey throughout the rest of the film. Inspired by the development of Google Earth, Saroo becomes obsessed with retracing his steps back to the family he left behind. Only his long-buried memories can tell him if he is on the right path amongst the countless possibilities in the sprawling geographical radius.

For British actor Dev Patel, who plays adult Saroo, this is a film about love and the remarkable bond between mother and son transcending continents. Through tender memories, we see young Saroo working with his birth mother Kamla in the hills behind their village. The more Saroo scours Google Earth for clues to the whereabouts of his village, the more vivid the memories become, and the more his love for his mother is reignited. Meanwhile, we're shown the quiet dedication that his adopted parents have provided and the deep bond he has formed with his adopted mother, even if Saroo cant bring himself to tell them of his investigations for fear of hurting them and seeming ungrateful.

The film throws light on the sensitive issues around adoption and the motivations of parents who adopt children from different countries and cultures to their own. All the while, Saroo's relationship with Mantosh becomes increasingly strained - not helped by not knowing what became of Guddu. Acutely aware that Saroo's life would be very different if he hadn't been adopted, his memories wont let you forget that it was simply an unthinkable event that cruelly drew them apart.

Torn between two families in two different countries, landscape becomes a defining motif in Saroo's struggle to understand who he really is. Gliding aerial shots of the Australian countryside are compared to the rugged plains of India that Saroo's train travelled across. Director Garth Davis and Dev Patel both spent months travelling through India in order to help them emotionally connect with the story. Saroo's childhood memories revolve around the earthy hills he worked on with his mother, while as an adult he runs into the rugged wilderness of Tasmania for space to think, revealing the innate association he has with both worlds.

This conflict of identity is brought to the fore by a deeply affecting performance from Dev Patel. Through eight months of research, he perfected the Australian accent, travelled India, and even met with the real life Saroo. Similarly, 8-year-old Sunny Pawar is transfixing as young Saroo, despite having never acted before. As a more established actor, Nicole Kidman strikes a poignant chord as his agonised adoptive mother, torn between her love and his needs.

A real story told with raw and absorbing truth Lion is an important story with a huge heart that provokes fundamental questions around identity, belonging and cultural heritage.

Explore the themes of Lion further with our Into Film Recommends podcast below, or  log in to SoundCloud to download the podcast and listen on the go . 

The  Into Film Recommends Podcast Series is also available on iTunes .

Kirsten Geekie , Film Curation Manager

MA (Hons) in English Literature & Film and Television Studies, University of Glasgow with a background in Film Festivals having worked for Edinburgh International Film Festival, Sheffield Doc Fest and BFI London Film Festival.

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Lion (2016) Review – An Emotionally Taxing Yet Vibrant Story of Love and Family

Truth be told, I did not think I was going to make it through Lion. Not five minutes in, I was sobbing. Lion is a film that makes you ache from beginning to end as you follow Saroo from childhood to adulthood and then back again.

While waiting for his brother, five-year-old Saroo falls asleep on an empty train and wakes to discover it is traveling across India. After thousands of miles, Saroo lands in Calcutta. Confused and too young to explain what happened, Saroo survives on the streets for two months. After a stranger discovers him in the streets, the authorities place Saroo in an orphanage until adopted by a couple in Australia. Twenty-five years later, Saroo’s memories to his earlier life revive unexpectedly. Realizing that as a child he was lost, he begins searching for his family. What follows is the deconstruction and rebuilding of an incredibly determined young man.

Lion Review

In his directorial debut, Garth Davis sinks his hooks deeply into your heart. He challenges the traditional notion of family and identity through his lead character’s emotional journey of rediscovery. Based on the true life events of Saroo Brierley, Davis, along with screenwriter Luke Davies, elevate the genre cliché of an adopted man searching for his family, and turn it into something powerful. It is a contrast in privilege and poverty. However, it is also a study of family bonds, whether by blood or through choice. In addition, Lion shows us how deep familial love runs and how it survives in lost memories.

What makes Lion particularly heartbreaking is Saroo’s early life. From the beginning, it is clear that this family loves one another deeply. Saroo’s older brother, Guddu, protects him in every way possible. He is gentle with Saroo and indulgent. The same is true of Saroo’s relationship with his mother. Saroo never felt unloved or unwanted. Thus, when he finds himself lost in Calcutta, it is heart-wrenching.

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Saroo roams around the train station, trying to get someone to understand. Yet, no one understands him. Saroo doesn’t speak Bengali, and no one understood his five-year-old Hindi. So, he wanders the streets for months, surviving on scraps and memories. Sunny Pawar melts your heart as he tries to survive. His dark eyes peer at the camera, desolation, and fear readily apparent.

Lion’s  Deconstruction of Saroo

What was particularly moving about Lion was Saroo’s breakdown. Twenty-five years after his adoption, we meet a happy, successful young man on the brink of his future. Raised in privilege, Saroo doesn’t identify with his Indian culture. When questioned about his ethnicity, it’s almost a throwaway comment from him. His memories of his time before his adoption are only of Calcutta. Saroo no longer remembers Guddu, his mother, the train and how he came to be in Calcutta. However, one evening while dining with new friends from India, the sight of an Indian delicacy triggers a memory. In that moment, he realizes he is not from Calcutta.

“I’m not from Calcutta… I’m lost.”

Dev Patel is utterly brilliant as Saroo. The emotional fallout as Saroo’s memories begins to surface plays out not only in words but in every expression. Patel masterfully conveys the emotional absence of Saroo. With only a handful of memories, Saroo’s task of finding his family is daunting. It begins to subsume him. Slowly, Saroo begins to isolate himself. Even when surrounded by family, he’s alone. His girlfriend, Lucy, feels his withdrawal keenly and attempts to bring him back. He tries but he cannot let it go.

Lion and the Memory of Family

Incredibly painful to watch is the guilt Saroo experiences for his privilege. The realization that his mother and brother never knew what happened to him tears him apart. At first, Saroo keeps that to himself and struggles to continue his life as before. Yet, he cannot escape from the thought of his family searching for him. That for twenty-five years, they screamed his name while he led a comfortable life. The guilt takes over and Saroo cannot take it anymore. He can’t pretend or return to the present.

“How every day my real brother screams my name? Can you imagine the pain they must be in not knowing where I am?”

Saroo looses himself in his search, mapping train speeds, and stations. In those scenes where Saroo is haunting the internet or roaming the streets, Patel’s body language is masterful. From hunched shoulders to unkempt hair or the shimmer of tears as he spirals lower, Patel’s performance is devastating. The tearing down of everything that is Saroo does not stop at the physical. Each failure ratchets up the despondency. He eats alone, walks the streets alone, and by choice, loses contact with everyone, including his Australian family. The confident Saroo we met earlier is gone. Instead, he is a shell of that young man.

Flashbacks of Guddu especially torment Saroo. Their connection, and the care Guddu took of Saroo at such a young age, was all the more tragic for its tenderness. Saroo’s memory of his relationship with Guddu is at odds with the relationship he has with Mantosh, his adopted brother. Also adopted from India, Mantosh did not escape his time in a Calcutta orphanage unscathed. As a result, he is mentally unstable. This is probably the only fault I can find with Lion . There were mere hints of the nature Saroo and Mantosh’s relationship. I would have liked to see more and how Saroo’s relationships with both brothers added to his emotional state.

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Lion is heart-rending. From Saroo’s seemingly futile search to the lost connection with his adoptive mother, it examines the idea of family in the non-traditional sense of the word. I recommend settling in with a box of tissues or two. On second thought, better make it three!

Lion also stars Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, and David Wenham.

Where to Watch: It is available to stream on Netflix. You can also rent the film on various online streaming services (Amazon, Vudu, etc.) and buy on DVD.

Content Warning: Rated PG-13 for thematic material and some sensuality.

Have you seen Lion ? What are your thoughts on this award winning film?

Photo Credit: The Weinstein Company

OVERALL RATING

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Catherine is an avid reader and a self-declared professional binge watcher. It's not uncommon to find her re-watching a series or movie for the umpteenth time and still be crying into a box of tissues. When she's not hiding in her closet to read or watch a show or movie, Catherine is a wife, mother, and, in her spare time, a lawyer.

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5 thoughts on “Lion (2016) Review – An Emotionally Taxing Yet Vibrant Story of Love and Family”

Haven’t seen the film, but read a long article about this man and his search a few years back and sobbed my way through it…Incredible story, heartachingly incredible….

It’s an amazing story. I would like to know more about his adopted brother. I felt the movie neglected that part of the story. I really think the issues his brother went through had an impact on Saroo while growing up and while searching for his birth family. I get the movie was about Saroo but still. Thank you for reading!

I appreciated your review. You highlighted some details and subtle nuances which I missed when I watched it. I enjoyed Lion but thought it was a bit overhyped. After reading your thoughts, I’m reconsidering my opinion.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about the movie because of the hype. I watched it for the first time to write this review, and I think being this far removed from the original hype helped. Thank you for reading the review!

I just saw it last night. I don’t usually cry at movies, but found the tears coming down when he finally found his birth mother. And just think–He found her all because of Google Earth! Ten years earlier, it didn’t exist.

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Movie Review: Lion (2016)

• Howard Schumann
• Movie Reviews
• No responses
• --> December 24, 2016

“And I shall rest my head between two worlds, in the Valley of the Vanquished” — Léolo, Jean-Claude Lauzon

Whether Harvey Weinstein’s purpose in producing Lion was to add to his collection of Oscars or just to tell a sweet, heartfelt story about a lost boy searching for his home, the result is that he has probably accomplished both. Directed by Garth Davis (“Top of the Lake,” TV Series) the film tells the moving story of Saroo Brierley, a boy seeking to find his way back to India after having lived for 25 years in Australia, a country 5,000 miles away. Written by Luke Davies (“Life”) and based on Brierley’s memoir, A Long Way Home , young Saroo (Sunny Pawar) is an impoverished 5-year-old boy from the village of Ganesh Talai in the Khandwr Province of India. Insisting that he go to work at night with his older brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate), he falls asleep at the train station and becomes separated from Guddu.

Frightened, he boards an empty train and ends up in Calcutta, almost 1000 miles away from Guddu, his sister Shekila (Khushi Solanki), and his mother Kamla (Priyanka Bose, “Half Ticket”). Saroo is a strong little boy, yet the fact that he cannot remember his mother’s name or the name of his village and cannot speak Bengali makes him prey for predators. Confused and afraid, he seeks the help of strangers, looks for places to sleep, and has to escape from a threatening situation. When he ends up at the police station, he is sent to a crowded and oppressive orphanage where, with the help of a compassionate social worker, he is fortunate enough to be adopted by Sue and John Brierley (Nicole Kidman, “ Just Go with It ” and David Wenham, “ 300: Rise of an Empire ”), a loving family in Hobart, Tasmania.

Here he must forget about his old family and adjust to a new home and a new country. A year later, the Brierley’s adopt another Indian boy, Mantosh (Keshav Jadhav), but this time they are not as fortunate as Mantosh has both physical and mental problems. Jumping ahead twenty five years, Saroo (now played by Dev Patel, “ The Man Who Knew Infinity ”) has gone to Melbourne to study Hotel Management but his memories are reactivated when the Indian food served at a party thrown by his girlfriend Lucy (Rooney Mara, “ Carol ”) bring back thoughts of his family in India. It is now 2008 and the introduction of new Internet technology such as Google Earth allows him to believe that he might, after all these years, be able to find his way back home.

Grateful to his new mom and dad who raised him, he has not told them of his background for fear of hurting them. Now that he can see a path back to his roots, his conflicting emotions make it doubly hard for him to communicate. When Sue finds out about his past, however, she is happy for him and wants his real mother to know how well he has turned out. In one of the most poignant moments of the film, Sue tells Saroo about a vision she had when she was younger that led her to adopt children rather than have her own. It is a moment of pure transcendence.

The story that eventually takes us back to Ganesh Talai might seem far-fetched and manipulative if it were not for the fact that it actually happened. Though Lion has its flaws and is hindered by a failure to probe deeply into the inner life of its characters, the performances, especially those of Pawar and Patel, are so convincing that the narrative comes across as completely believable. While the film has emotional highs and lows that may induce copious tears, a fact that some of our more cynical critics will not hesitate to point out, Davis trusts his audience enough to keep the maudlin aspects of the film to a minimum and respect the humanity of its characters.

Tagged: adoption , Australia , boy , India , novel adaptation , true story

I am a retired father of two living with my wife in Vancouver, B.C. who has had a lifelong interest in the arts.

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Lion Pierces the Heart

• Debbie Holloway Contributing Writer
• Updated Apr 07, 2017

NAMED CROSSWALK'S #6 MOVIE OF 2016 !

With a riveting first half and probing questions about family, Lion 's careful attention to life’s cruelty balanced with an inspiring tenderness and optimism make it a strong 4 out of 5 .  

It’s tricky to tell a true story well, but director Garth Davis and screenwriter Luke Davies find great success in adapting the tale of Saroo Brierley from his book A Long Way Home . Saroo (the enchanting Sunny Pawar ) is a five-year-old boy from a small Indian village whose big heart and humor outmatch his tiny frame. When he gets separated from his brother Guddu ( Abhishek Bharate ) at a train station, he mistakenly boards a train which takes him over a thousand kilometers from home. He doesn't speak the dominant language, nobody has heard of his hometown, and his surroundings are not friendly to lost children, but he manages to survive long enough to find his way to an orphanage. Eventually an adoption service places him with a loving Australian couple ( Nicole Kidman and David Wenham ), but after many years, a grown-up Saroo ( Dev Patel ), unable to quiet his memories and regret, determines to track down his birthplace and family.  

What Works?

As an American viewer, it was painful to watch hordes of people ignoring this lost child - to get a glimpse into a culture where there are, perhaps, too many lost children to notice just one. The film also breaks open the painful, dark side of international adoption - showing that a child's life never begins with "first-world family waiting for their new child with open arms." It makes the viewer ask painful questions about child abuse and mental health, the nature of wealth and poverty, and whether they might have been ignoring (or even complicit in) troubling systems.  

What Doesn't?

Christian worldview elements / spiritual themes.

The most explicitly religious moment is when a hungry little boy is shown folding his hands respectfully before a shrine before taking some of the offering (food) to eat for himself. However, many probing worldview questions run deep in this film: do our families (cultures, nations) truly treat children as fully human? If not, what would that look like? Are our efforts to be noble and generous ever motivated by naivete and self righteousness? What does family really mean? What defines us the most: our blood and DNA, our memories, or our relationships and choices?  

CAUTIONS (may contain spoilers)

• MPAA Rating:  PG-13 for thematic material and some sensuality 
• Language/Profanity : "God" is used as an exclamation.
• Sexuality/Nudity : A couple is shown kissing/in bed a handful of times, in various states of undress, but no nudity is shown. A man is seen without a shirt. A man lies down on a bed next to a child in an uncomfortable way.
• Violence/Frightening/Intense : A boy is trapped on an empty train and screams to be let out and for passersby to "save him." Men chase abandoned children through the halls of a train station in an attempt to kidnap them (some succeed). We briefly meet a character and get the impression he might be a ringleader in some kind of child sex-trafficking operation. Later, in an orphanage, the guards release a terrified and protesting young boy into the custody of a few men who "promise to return him by morning." Several children appear to wrestle with mental illness, and we see no medical attention given to them.
• Drugs/Alcohol : People are shown smoking and drinking in a few scenes. One character is portrayed as a drug abuser/addict.  

The Bottom Line

RECOMMENDED FOR:  Those who appreciate and notice food as a cultural connector and signifier. Lovers of landscape, cinematic scenery, and emotional scores. Those with a heart for children, or who love inspirational real-life stories.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR:  Those unimpressed by movies that run on the predictable side, or that adhere closely to real-life rather than purely compelling narrative.

Lion,  directed by Garth Davis, opened in limited theaters November 25, 2016, wider January 6, 2017; available for home viewing April 11, 2017. It runs 120 minutes and stars Sunny Pawar, Abhishek Bharate, Priyanka Bose, Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, Nicole Kidman, and David Wenham. Watch the trailer for Lion here .  

Publication date : January 13, 2017

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Dove Review

Based on a true story, “Lion” is an amazing piece of work and of storytelling that will touch the human emotions. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Director (Garth Davis), the acting, story, and direction are all topnotch. An interesting aspect of the story is that a young boy, Saroo (played by Sunny Pawar as a boy and Dev Patel as an adult), is separated from his brother and then lost. He has images of his beautiful mother and brother in his head, as well as his baby sister, and of his home, but he is adopted by an Australian couple and, for a time, moves forward with his life. However, he cannot forget about his past life and cannot help wondering whatever happened to his real family.

An interesting part of the movie is that the ability to actually find his lost family occurs due to modern technology—and just when he needs it and yearns to find them. He also keeps his search for his family from his adopted family, not wishing to hurt them. Later on, when they learn of it, his adopted mother Sue (Nicole Kidman) tells him she supports it. She is proud of Saroo and knows his real mother would be too.

This movie features various touching scenes, including those of people being kind to Saroo and trying to help him when he is lost. Due to the implied sex between a grown Saroo and a young woman, we are not awarding the film our Dove Seal. But the love of home, and family, and making the most of difficult situations are all themes found in this movie and can be commended.

Dove Rating Details

People hurt themselves, such as banging their heads against walls or hitting themselves with their fists; an adopted boy shows a lot of anger by hitting himself with his fists; some street guards are a bit physical and tough on characters on the street; a character is almost hit by a bus but is okay; it's said a kid was hit by a train; guards grab up kids; a boy is nipped by a passing motorcycle but is okay; a character hits a wall in anger.

A couple kisses in a few scenes; a couple is in bed together, undressed, although nothing graphic is seen; implied sex between an unmarried couple; one man seems to show an unusual interest in Saroo, possibly sexual, and touches his face, but nothing happens.

Smoking in several scenes; alcohol in several scenes including beer and wine; the drinking of champagne; one character could possibly be hooked on drugs; another character says this particular character might go "back on the hard stuff"; a man is mentioned as having been an alcoholic.

Several scenes of shirtless men including bathing in a river; part of a woman's breast is seen but it is not graphic; cleavage.

A family steals coal in order to buy milk; a few aspects of Hinduism are seen in the film including an idol; tension between characters; the importance of adoption is clearly seen in this film; belching; kids have to work to help family earn a living.

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, the lion king.

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It may be a long time before viewers can appreciate the 2019 remake of "The Lion King" as a freestanding work, instead of judging it against the original. The 1994 version was "Hamlet" plus "Bambi" on the African veldt: a childhood-shaping, Oscar-winning blockbuster, the second-highest grossing feature film of its calendar year, one of the last great hand-drawn Disney animated features (Pixar's original " Toy Story " came out 18 months later), and a tear-producing machine. This remake was controversial long before it opened, mainly because it seemed to take the Walt Disney company's new branding strategy—remaking beloved animated films as CGI-dependent "live action" spectaculars—to its most drastic conclusion. It serves up the same story with different actors, different arrangements of beloved songs and soundtrack cues, a couple of original tunes, a few fresh scenes and sequences, and, of course, photorealistic animals. The latter are the movie's main selling point, so believable that one of my kids remarked afterward that sitting through the film was like watching a nature documentary on mute while the soundtrack to original "The Lion King" played in the background.

But here's the thing: the movie is helmed by a Disney veteran, actor-director Jon Favreau , who's great at this kind of thing. And this might be his best-directed film, if you judge purely in terms of how the scenes and sequences have been framed, lit, and cut together. The cinematographer is Caleb Deschanel , who shot some of the greatest live-action animal adventures in movie history, including " The Black Stallion ," and this production straightforwardly owns the notion of "realness," modeling its animals on actual creatures, defining character more through body type and ingenious details of movement than through facial expressions, which might've looked kinda creepy here, honestly. (The animals are a little bit creepy at times, though not as creepy as in Andy Serkis' "Mowgli," where you sometimes felt as if you were watching top secret footage of gene-spliced animal-humans.) 

Favreau broke into filmmaking with such hip indie comedies as " Swingers " and " Made ," then improbably transformed himself into a junior version of Steven Spielberg or James Cameron , overseeing the biggest of big-budget properties, including the first two " Iron Man " films and Disney's recent hyper-real remake of " The Jungle Book ." This may be his most daunting challenge yet, or at least his most provocative if you cherish the source material. The very idea of presuming to remake Disney's most financially successful late-period animated film with the latest in computer-generated imagery, while continually reminding people of the original by recycling the same story and music (and many of the same iconic shots and locations, including the lions' distinctively shaped Pride Rock), is as close as Hollywood gets to courting charges of blasphemy. 

Visually, the original was 88 minutes' worth of stylized paintings in motion, like a child's storybook come to life, but with expressionistic or psychedelic elements (like the freaky green highlights in the "Be Prepared" sequence, and the stylized hellfire and skewed camera angles during the end battle) that tickled the sensibilities of film-buff parents. In contrast, this new "Lion King" is rooted deeply in the real, from its plain, sometimes drab colors to the animals' intricately rendered bone structures, muscles, and fur. Even when the characters are singing the familiar songs and repeating the familiar lines (or, in one hilarious and oddly postmodern interlude, quoting another Disney movie) the entire crew is working double-overtime to convince you that these creatures exist, that they shed fur and drop scat on the jungle floor. 

Favreau and Deschanel's camera (or "camera"—this is a digital movie built from ones and zeros) follows closely behind the animals as they gallop through grasslands, scale cliffs and hills, tumble and wrestle and fight, and romp through water and rain. It's as as if they were real animals with intelligence and agency who allowed camera crews to follow them rather than eating them. (Disney always released animal documentaries in addition to their animated and live-action features, and this one sometimes feels like a very basic one from the 1950s, where an editor would cut to an unremarkable close-up of a bear panting in the summer heat, and the narrator would tell you it was sad because it missed its mom.)

It's impossible to deny that this movie represents a technical milestone. We've seen digitized versions of real animals before (perhaps most strikingly in the recent "Planet of the Apes" movies, and in Favreau's "Jungle Book") but they're presented so matter-of-factly by Favreau that if they didn't talk and sing, and if you squinted just a bit, you'd never know they weren't the real deal. And the filmmaking itself adds credibility. The "camera" (again, there is no camera, just CGI) seems to have weight. When it "flies" over "Africa," you'd swear it had been attached to an actual helicopter. When the elder lion king, Mufasa ( James Earl Jones, the only actor from the original reprising his part), scales the walls of a canyon to rescue his son  from rampaging wildebeests unleashed by his evil brother Scar ( Chiwetel Ejiofor ), it's clear that the filmmakers have put a lot of thought into how a 400-pound alpha predator would do such a thing, whereas the original was content with "the lion climbs up the rock."

Of course there's something to be said for sticking to "the lion climbs up the rock" rather than proving you that know how to answer the question "How does a 400-pound lion climb up a rock?" The Dad Joke answer is, "Any way he wants to," but animators need more direction than that. It's easy to make a case that lions and hyenas and baboons and hornbills and antelopes drawn with ink and paint, with an eye towards the simple yet daring gesture rather than Nature Channel texture, register as more emotionally "real" than things that might be mistaken for photos, especially when they're doing vaudeville wordplay and delivering sad monologues and singing songs by Elton John and Tim Rice . 

But that doesn't fly, not anymore, because the movie industry has conditioned audiences to think that "reality" and "believability" are the greatest of all creative virtues, and that the live-action blockbuster is the classiest, most respectful way to tell a story. That's why visually daring animated films like " Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse " only make a fraction of the box office haul of more literal-minded live-action Marvel movies. And it's why almost every spectacle-driven live action (or "live action") blockbuster, from Marvel and DC to the " Star Wars " franchise and the American Godzilla films, and the Transformers, and even Pixar, are obsessed with making sure that countertops and pavement and glass and hair and skin and fur and fire and water look photographically real, and that everything moves believably even you're watching wisecracking toys or combat droids or city-destroying kaiju. To quote a friend, if you follow this creative impulse too slavishly, it's like using a magic wand to make a toaster . 

Where you fall on this stuff is anyone's guess, if you care about it at all. You might not, and that's OK. But it should be said that even if you're not obsessed with cinema minutia, this film is still a fascinating aesthetic experiment, less reminiscent of Favreau's previous photorealistic Disney animal picture, "The Jungle Book," than of Gus van Sant's 1998 remake of Alfred Hitchcock 's "Psycho," a curiosity that wasn't quite shot-for-shot but got eerily close. Watching this new "Lion King" reminded me of seeing the "Psycho" remake in a theater and hearing people scream their heads off at the film's jump scares, even though they were near-exact reproductions of things Hitchcock had done 28 years earlier, with the same music, but in color instead of black and white, and with different actors. 

Who deserves credit for inspiring that powerful emotional reaction in 1998? Alfred Hitchcock, for making "Psycho" in the first place? Or Gus van Sant, for realizing that the master's work was so fully realized that if he copied it as closely as possible, audiences would still scream in the same places 38 years later? If you retain as much of an original work as possible while reimagining it, is it a gesture of respect or timidity? Is the result a thought experiment, or just an easy way ("easy" in terms of imagination, not effort) to make lots of money by creating a slightly different version of a thing people already know they like? Maybe films like the new "Lion King" take the phrase "give the people what they want" absolutely literally, and that's the whole (cynical?) point of their existence. But is slavish fidelity to an old text really what "the people" want? Or is it possible—to paraphrase a different showbiz maxim that's equally true—"the people" don't actually know what they want until someone shows it to them?

There are parts of the new "Lion King" where that second maxim comes into play, and it's beguiling, sometimes glorious. Like many "live action" Disney remakes of animated movies, this one is much longer than the original, and yet (like Favreau's "Jungle Book," still the best entry in this photorealistic remake series) it uses the extra length to make a statement, creating a sense of stillness. This might sound odd in a review of a CGI-driven 2019 Disney movie, but Favreau often appears to be trying to create a mid-twentieth-century motion picture made with the shiniest new tech—the kind of movie that took its time and gave viewers a bit of mental breathing space, permitting them to contemplate what they were seeing as they saw it.

There are times when the movie clears out music and dialogue and just lets you hear natural sounds and watch lions, giraffes, elephants, birds, rodents, and insects move through the frame. This movie uses the motif of "light" more subtly than the original, because it's striving to look "real" rather than stylized, and the result is a great example of how CGI animation can achieve a different kind of poetic effect that's different from the kind that old-fashioned cel animators might attempt. 

When Mufasa tells young Simba that his domain is "everything the light touches," the scene is illuminated by a golden, dawn-like glow, and when they have what proves to be their final conversation before Mufasa's death (that's not a spoiler, folks—"Hamlet" is 400 years old) the sunlight ebbs and gives way to darkness, and the sky fills with stars, foreshadowing Mufasa taking his place among the ghosts of kings and queens up above. A sequence two-thirds of the way through takes a brief transitional bit from the original—Rafiki the baboon realizing that Simba is still alive by catching his scent in the wind—and builds a lengthy, chain-reaction sequence around it, with a tuft of Simba's fur traveling, like the " Forrest Gump " feather, from the Eden-like jungle where he's exiled himself to the pridelands. 

And while the photorealism of the animals snuffs out any possibility of subtle "human" facial expressions, the creatures' bodies provide more characterization detail than you might expect. Especially impressive is the way Scar's physique contrasts with Mufasa's. The former is angular and raw, a Mick Jagger or David Bowie sort of body that lopes and limps, while the latter is a magnificent bruiser like Dave Bautista or Dwayne Johnson , so thick and powerful that when he moves, you can imagine the air parting around him. When Scar licks his paw and grooms himself absentmindedly as his brother pontificates, the gesture comes across as decadent and contemptuous even though it looks like something a real lion would do. That's filmmaking magic of a different kind than was contained in the source, and it's not necessarily lesser. 

What distinguishes all these choices is that they aren't blatantly trying to re-create or pay homage to something that viewers loved in an original work, in order to comfort us and press our nostalgia buttons. That means they can stand on their own two paws, making unflattering comparison harder. When the movie is doing its own thing, you don't think about whether Donald Glover's performance as the adult Simba is better or worse or merely different from Matthew Broderick's Simba (he's different—more internalized and shell-shocked), or whether Beyonce gives a better acting performance as Nala than Moira Kelly (she doesn't, except when she sings), or whether Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen are a funnier meerkat-warthog duo than Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella (call it a tie, and ties go to actors with Broadway-caliber singing voices). The movie is never less interesting than when it's trying to be the original "Lion King," and never more compelling than when it's carving out negative space within a very familiar property and strutting to the beat of its own, new music. 

The worst thing you can say about this movie, and perhaps the highest compliment you can pay it, is to say it would be even more dazzling if it told a different story with different animals and the same technology and style—and maybe without songs, because you don't necessarily need them when you have images that sing. 

Matt Zoller Seitz

Matt Zoller Seitz is the Editor at Large of RogerEbert.com, TV critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.com, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.

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The Lion King (2019)

Rated PG for sequences of violence and peril, and some thematic elements.

118 minutes

Donald Glover as Simba (voice)

Beyoncé Knowles as Nala (voice)

James Earl Jones as Mufasa (voice)

Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar (voice)

Alfre Woodard as Sarabi (voice)

John Oliver as Zazu (voice)

John Kani as Rafiki (voice)

Seth Rogen as Pumbaa (voice)

Billy Eichner as Timon (voice)

Eric André as Azizi (voice)

Florence Kasumba as Shenzi (voice)

Keegan Michael Key as Kamari (voice)

JD McCrary as Young Simba (voice)

Shahadi Wright Joseph as Young Nala (voice)

Amy Sedaris as (voice)

• Jon Favreau
• Jeff Nathanson

Writer (story)

• Brenda Chapman

Writer (characters)

• Irene Mecchi
• Jonathan Roberts
• Linda Woolverton

Cinematographer

• Caleb Deschanel
• Mark Livolsi
• Hans Zimmer

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• Cast & crew

Mufasa: The Lion King

Simba, having become king of the Pride Lands, is determined for his cub to follow in his paw prints while the origins of his late father Mufasa are explored. Simba, having become king of the Pride Lands, is determined for his cub to follow in his paw prints while the origins of his late father Mufasa are explored. Simba, having become king of the Pride Lands, is determined for his cub to follow in his paw prints while the origins of his late father Mufasa are explored.

• Barry Jenkins
• Linda Woolverton
• Irene Mecchi
• Jonathan Roberts
• Aaron Pierre
• Kelvin Harrison Jr.
• 2 Critic reviews
• 1 nomination

• Young Mufasa
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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Did you know

• Trivia The prequel film will not be a sequel remake of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998) , the direct-to-video sequel to the original film.

Rafiki : [from trailer] This story begins far beyond the mountains and the shadows. On the other side of the light, a lion was born without a drop of nobility in his blood. A lion who change our lives forever. The earth will shake, destiny awaits you.

• Connections Featured in AniMat's Crazy Cartoon Cast: The Sequel of Life (2020)
• When will Mufasa: The Lion King be released? Powered by Alexa
• December 20, 2024 (United States)
• United States
• Vua Sư Tử: Mufasa
• South Africa
• The Walt Disney Company
• Walt Disney Pictures
• Walt Disney Studios
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Dolby Atmos
• Dolby Surround 7.1
• IMAX 6-Track
• D-Cinema 96kHz 7.1
• 12-Track Digital Sound
• Dolby Digital
• D-Cinema 96kHz Dolby Surround 7.1

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home’ on Hallmark Mystery, A Solid Murder Procedural That’s Darker Than Most Hallmark Fare

Where to Stream:

• Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home

• movie reviews

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Everything Puppies’ on Hallmark, A Romance That Combines Love, Puppies, And Corporate Villainy Into One Weirdly Pleasing Movie

Stream it or skip it: ‘power’ on netflix, yance ford’s strong, salient documentary argument for police reform, stream it or skip it: ‘challengers’ on vod, in which a sporting zendaya anchors a wildly entertaining stylegasm, stream it or skip it: ‘monster’ on netflix, a dialogue-free indonesian horror-thriller.

Hallmark movies, even the mysteries, generally manage to project a sunny disposition thanks to their typically upbeat casts and low-stakes drama. Generally speaking, most of the content on the Hallmark Mystery channel fall into the “cozy murder” genre. But Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home is not really cozy or comforting, instead it’s just a solid murder procedural that doesn’t ever veer into fluffy, lighthearted territory. While there’s some light romance, this one is all about piecing together the clues to solve a small-town murder.

FAMILY PRACTICE MYSTERIES: COMING HOME : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: Masked thieves break into a medical supply warehouse. Despite the building being fairly secure, these people have security codes and keys to let themselves in and they make off with some unidentified drugs.

The Gist: Rachel Hunt (Amanda Schull) is a former Army surgeon who has relocated with her twin teenagers Chloe and Matthew to her dad’s home in a small town after living in Germany. Her husband died while serving in Syria, and she’s got PTSD from serving in Afghanistan, and her kids are struggling to adjust to their move. Despite all of that trauma, they’re as positive and optimistic as they can be, and trying to keep moving forward with their lives.

Rachel now works at a local medical practice, and one of her patients, a man named Ross Alexander, is a 61-year-old man with no health issues. When Rachel tries to reach out to him to give him the results of an MRI one day, she grows concerned when he repeatedly doesn’t answer his phone. After multiple attempts to reach him, Rachel goes to his house where she finds him slumped over his desk, lifeless.

The medical examiner tells Rachel that without any signs of foul play, Ross likely died from a heart attack or stroke, but Rachel doesn’t believe it – this was a man who was the picture of health, and she sets out to investigate what could have happened to him.

Her dad puts her in touch with a local police detective, Jack Quinn (Brendan Penny) to look into the death, and they start compiling evidence that makes them suspicious that Ross’s death wasn’t natural after all. Rachel pushes the coroner for an autopsy despite pushback from the police and the victim’s family, and when they perform one, they find traces of a poison that induces paralysis and can cause death. With that proof, she and Jack realize they have a real murder on their hands. The question is, who had the motive?

They compile a list of possible suspects and chase leads, but as they dig deeper into the investigation (and eventually piece together how the burglary from that very first scene fits into the crime), not only do things become more dangerous, with one suspect getting murdered and Rachel herself becoming the target of the killer, but Rachel and Jack’s own relationship deepens. Because this is Hallmark, baby! What good is a murder mystery if there’s not some innocent flirtation thrown in?

What Movies Will It Remind You Of? Family Practice Mysteries is a straightforward procedural that’s like a cross between Law & Order and Crossing Jordan .

Our Take: Unlike most Hallmark fare, Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home is straightforward and serious, and that’s mostly thanks to Amanda Schull’s performance as Rachel. She’s playing a woman with PTSD and grief, not to mention the stress she has from parenting two teens who are struggling socially in school. But Schull doesn’t play Rachel as if everything is going to be okay all the time, which is a welcome change from this kind of fare; her character has conviction and a desire to help people, without being saccharine and overly optimistic.

The central mystery in the movie is just fine, the film keeps throwing in red herrings and clues that liven it up, but none of the characters are real wildcards, essentially we’re just here to watch Rachel (a doctor who should definitely not be given as much access to police files as she does) and Jack put the pieced of this puzzle together. They’re a winning combo, with good chemistry and rapport, and while they go on a couple of dates in the film, it will be interesting to see if this becomes a franchise and their relationship develops further. The film benefits from some helpful B-stories too, one that features Chloe and Matt struggling with the “popular” kids at school, and another about Rachel helping a military vet get back on his feet after a health crisis. They’re certainly not integral to the plot but they’re the elements of the movie that round out the edges of the murder mystery.

Parting Shot: Rachel surprises her two kids with a puppy, something they’ve been asking for ever since they moved back to the States. She thanks Jack, who is at her home for a celebratory “We solved a murder!” dinner, for helping her find a dog to adopt, and watches as her kids nuzzle the dog. “So cute!” she says. “I’m flattered,” Jack smiles, a callback to an earlier joke they shared. “I was talking about the puppy, but I think you knew that,” she responds flirtatiously.

Performance Worth Watching: Schull’s performance as Rachel is the heart of the movie. While everyone around her is believable, hers is the only character that’s got some real backstory and she makes Rachel’s specifics come to life.

Memorable Dialogue: “Mom, you should go to his work and ask about enemies, that’s what they do on SVU ,” Rachel’s daughter Chloe suggests when she learns her mother is investigating Ross’s death. Considering how much this movie gives off Law & Order vibes, this advice feels especially funny and rewarding because, Chloe, we were all thinking it.

Our Call: STREAM IT! Family Practice Mysteries: Coming Home is a capable procedural drama that’s got likeable actors and solid chemistry. It’s got a formula that could easily translate to a series.

Liz Kocan is a pop culture writer living in Massachusetts. Her biggest claim to fame is the time she won on the game show Chain Reaction .

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‘if’ review: with imaginary friends like these, you don’t need enemies.

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Running time: 104 minutes. Rated PG (thematic elements and mild language.) In theaters.

John Krasinski has written, directed and stars in a new movie about imaginary friends. 

And, I suspect, rammed into his own imagination are the films “Toy Story,” “Monsters, Inc.” and “The Sixth Sense.”

Because he has put all of them in a blender with Ryan Reynolds and created “IF,” a schmaltzy family flick that makes less sense the more you think about it.

“IF” is nice enough, sure. Cloyingly so. But, just as in life, nice only gets you so far. A whole movie can’t hang on desperate “aww”s forcibly pried out of audience members mouths by talking inanimate objects.

Should you be wondering what the two-letter title means, don’t worry — the CGI characters flat-out tell you. 

“Imaginary Friends, or IFs,” an Art Deco Minnie Mouse named Blossom (voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge) says to 12-year-old Bea (Cailey Fleming). 

Adds fuzzy, bulbous Blue (Steve Carell): “Also, like, ‘What if?!’ Like anything’s possible!”

A dead ringer for the Grimace, he’s not the wittiest of figments.

Blossom and Blue are a pair of annoying IFs — and toy store merch just waiting to be sold — and Bea discovers she can mysteriously see and communicate with them.

Bea’s mother died of cancer when she was little, which is shown in a sad (some might say manipulative) opening sequence reminiscent of Pixar’s “Up.” Adding to the anguish, her prankster dad (Krasinski) is now in the hospital to have surgery for a “broken heart.” 

Needless to say, all of this early trauma has made Bea grow up fast. She’s deeply serious and averse to games and clowning around.

But returning to the place where she spent her formative younger years, a Brooklyn Heights apartment with her grandmother (Fiona Shaw), unlocks a dormant spirt of adventure and playfulness in her — and a magical ability to talk to giant purple bears.

Up till now, the movie is amiably routine. Then, in a super creepy choice, the pre-teen starts sneaking out of her home to pal around New York with Ryan Reynolds.

A 12-year-old girl and a 47-year-old male stranger. What could possibly go right?

His character Cal can also spot the imaginary friends, and he ropes in Bea to help find out-of-work IFs new lonely kids, and renewed purpose. 

“A matchmaking agency,” they call it. “IFs, Inc.,” I call it.

From here, Krasinski interprets the endless creative possibilities of one’s inner child as an excuse for total randomness.

I’m no fan of helicopter parenting, but I was rather perplexed seeing Bea venture off to Coney Island in the middle of the day with Cal, an adult man, to visit a retirement home for IFs oddly situated under the Wonder Wheel.

Inside the facility, they find a talking ice cube, a cat wearing a grease-stained T-shirt watching “Judge Judy,” and a banana leading a water aerobics class.

Is that supposed to be what childhood is?

Who the hell has fond, repressed, pivotal memories of a block of frozen water?

A ton of A-List stars make cameos as other IFs there. George Clooney, Bradley Cooper, Matt Damon, Blake Lively, Emily Blunt, Sam Rockwell, Jon Stewart, Maya Rudolph and Brad Pitt all voice various silly creatures.

I couldn’t tell who they were 95% of the time.

Whenever we feel something during “IF,” it’s usually due to composer Michael Giacchino’s buoyant, heart-tugging score with a catchy hook. He’s remarkably skilled at mining emotion out of music, as he proved in the TV show “Lost,” “Up” and many other projects over the years.

The flesh-and-blood actors aren’t bad, either. Fleming and Reynolds are a sweet duo, while Shaw makes a meal of a saltine.

Regardless, the role of the IFs in the plot is terribly confusing, especially what they mean to the stressed-out older characters.

For example, Blue helps his now-grown-up partner find confidence before a corporate meeting by grabbing his shoulders. Huh? Turns out all he needed was a massage from Muzzy.

I’ll give credit to Krasinski for endeavoring to deliver a new, if derivative, story. He’s not made a loathsome movie, really, but forgettable mush. The whole time I rooted for him to find some logic and clarity.

His imagination could use an editor.

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'If' movie review: Ryan Reynolds' imaginary friend fantasy might go over your kids' heads

Even with likable youngsters, a vast array of cartoonish characters, various pratfalls and shenanigans, and Ryan Reynolds in non- Deadpool mode, the family comedy “IF” isn’t really a "kids movie" – at least not in a conventional sense.

There’s a refreshing whiff of whimsy and playful originality to writer/director John Krasinski’s big-hearted fantasy (★★½ out of four; rated PG; in theaters Friday), which centers on a young girl who discovers a secret world of imaginary friends (aka IFs). What it can’t find is the common thread of universal appeal. Yeah, children are geared to like any movie with a cheery unicorn, superhero dog, flaming marshmallow with melting eye and assorted furry monsters. But “IF” features heady themes of parental loss and reconnecting with one’s youth, plus boasts a showstopping dance set to Tina Turner, and that all leans fairly adult. Mash those together and the result is akin to a live-action Pixar movie without the nuanced execution.

Twelve-year-old Bea (Cailey Fleming) doesn’t really think of herself as a kid anymore. Her mom died of a terminal illness and now her dad (Krasinski) is going into the hospital for surgery to fix his “broken heart,” so she’s staying with her grandma (Fiona Shaw) in New York City.

When poking around her new environment, Bea learns she has the ability to see imaginary friends. And she’s not the only one: Bea meets charmingly crusty upstairs neighbor Cal (Reynolds) as well as his IF pals, like spritely Blossom (voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and overly sensitive purple furry monster named Blue (Steve Carell). They run a sort of matchmaking agency to connect forgotten IFs whose kids have outgrown them with new children in need of their companionship, and Bea volunteers to help out.

'Welcome to Wrexham': Ryan Reynolds talks triumph, joy and loss of new season

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Bea is introduced to an IF retirement community located under a Coney Island carousel with a bevy of oddball personalities in the very kid-friendly middle section of the movie. “IF” low-key has the most starry supporting cast of any movie this summer because of all the A-listers voicing imaginary friends, an impressive list that includes Emily Blunt and Sam Rockwell as the aforementioned unicorn and superdog, Matt Damon as a helpful sunflower, George Clooney as a spaceman, Amy Schumer as a gummy bear and Bradley Cooper as an ice cube in a glass. (It's no talking raccoon, but it works.)

One of the movie's most poignant roles is a wise bear played by Louis Gossett Jr. in one of his final roles. Rather than just being a cameo, he’s nicely central to a key emotional scene.

While the best family flicks win over kids of all ages, “IF” is a film for grown-ups in PG dressing. The movie is amusing but safe in its humor, the overt earnestness overshadows some great bits of subversive silliness, and the thoughtful larger narrative, which reveals itself by the end to be much more than a story about a girl befriending a bunch of make-believe misfits, will go over some little ones’ heads. Tweens and teens, though, will likely engage with or feel seen by Bea’s character arc, struggling to move into a new phase of life while being tied to her younger years – not to mention worrying about her dad, who tries to make light of his medical situation for Bea.

Reynolds does his part enchanting all ages in this tale of two movies: He’s always got that irascible “fun uncle” vibe for kids, and he strikes a fun chemistry opposite Fleming that belies the serious stuff “IF” digs into frequently. But unless your child is into old movies, they probably won’t get why “Harvey” is playing in the background in a scene. And when “IF” reaches its cathartic finale, some kiddos might be wondering why their parents are sniffling and tearing up – if they're still paying attention and not off playing with their own imaginary friend by then.

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‘if’ review: ryan reynolds leads a john krasinski-directed family film that’s easier to admire than enjoy.

The 'A Quiet Place' helmer steps away from the horror genre for this live-action/animated movie featuring an all-star voice cast.

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In the early scenes of his new fantasy film geared to families, John Krasinski is seen as a 12-year-old girl’s father who’s in the hospital preparing for what seems to be life-threatening heart surgery. To keep up his daughter’s spirits, he delivers elaborate jokes and comedy routines, leading her to complain that he needn’t bother, that she’s not a child anymore. In other words, she thinks he’s trying too hard, which is something you could also say about IF .

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It’s a delicate balancing act that Krasinski nearly but doesn’t quite pull off, resulting in a film plagued by significant tonal shifts and pacing issues. Not to mention a certain air of familiarity, thanks to its resemblance to numerous Pixar films and movies like A Monster Calls .

The story revolves around Bea (Cailey Fleming, The Walking Dead ), who’s temporarily staying with her grandmother ( Fiona Shaw ) in her Brooklyn Heights brownstone apartment while her father (Krasinski) awaits his surgery. Having lost her mother to cancer when she was a little girl, Bea is naturally terrified of another loss, which no doubt leaves her emotionally open to encountering the IFs who start popping up in her orbit — including butterfly-like Blossom ( Phoebe Waller-Bridge ) and lovable furry giant Blue (an endearing Steve Carell ), who’s actually purple but was named by a color-blind child.

The care that Krasinski has put into the film is apparent on every level, beginning with the cute hand-painted Paramount logo seen during the opening credits. The IFs — voiced by a veritable who’s-who of Hollywood stars including Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Sam Rockwell, Blake Lively, George Clooney, Amy Schumer, Jon Stewart, Bradley Cooper, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, Sebastian Maniscalco, Maya Rudolph, and presumably everyone else in Krasinski’s contacts list — are consistently amusing and imaginative, even if most of them are seen too briefly to make much of an impression. There’s a terrific fantasy sequence (the whole film is a fantasy, but still), in which Bea puts Cal through a series of ordeals that feature visual references to everything from a Tina Turner music video to vintage Hollywood musicals. Clever touches abound, such as the grandmother falling asleep to the film Harvey , the grandfather of imaginary friend movies, on television.  

There’s also real cinematic craftsmanship on display in every aspect, from Janusz Kaminski’s elegant cinematography that gives the proceedings a warm, burnished glow to Michael Giacchino’s elegiac score that accentuates the story’s sadder elements without becoming too treacly. The performances are impeccable, with young Fleming anchoring the proceedings with real emotional depth and Reynolds displaying his trademark comedic chops without overdoing it.

Still, there’s much here to appreciate, not least of which is the admirable attempt to simultaneously provide belly laughs for children and emotional resonance for adults. IF may be guilty of trying too hard, but it’s a refreshing change from so many family movies that barely seem to be trying at all.   

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