Lion

— “Lion” had the potential to become trite but careful direction, a decent script, and spot-on acting elevated it to one of the better films of the year. It’s the story of Saroo, a 5-year-old Indian boy lost in Calcutta with no way home, surviving on the streets until he’s adopted by an Australian family. Twenty years later he sets out to find his lost family using Google Earth. Dev Patel does a remarkable job as the older Saroo living one life with another just out of reach, and I’d forgotten just how good Nicole Kidman can be—her performance is incredible. I wanted the film to be just a little shorter but I couldn’t find anything to edit that wouldn’t disturb the flow. It does an admirable job of dealing with issues of identity, family, loss, and culture. It’s well worth a viewing.

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[2016. 118 min. Directed by Garth Davis. Starring Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, and David Wenham.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/lion-2016