A five-year old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, thousands of kilometres from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia. 20 years later, Saroo starts remembering his long-lost family in India. He makes up his mind to reunite with them, no matter how difficult his journey gets.
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Lion
Stars: Dev Patel, Nichole Kidman, Rooney Mara, Sunny Pawar Tickets £5. Tickets can be booked online (click below) or from the Community Centre office.
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This true story is told in two parts and filmed across two continents. Five year-old Saroo is a ragamuffin sidekick to his older brother Guddo, two poor boys who support their family by stealing coal and scavenging trains in their West Bengal village. They become separated one night and Saroo finds himself alone on a train heading to the other side of India. He joins hordes of homeless children who must fend off predators while begging to survive. Eventually he is placed in a crowded orphanage, then adopted by two big-hearted and childless Tasmanians, Sue (Nicole Kidman) and John (David Wenham). Twenty years on, Saroo (Dev Patel) begins to have memory flashbacks of his native land. As they increase in intensity, he becomes obsessed with finding his family. With some luck and Google maps, the story comes full circle.
There is so much that makes this film stand out. The storytelling is more than engaging: it is so captivating. Acting performances are outstanding: Nicole Kidman is at her best while the five year-old Saroo (Sunny Pawar) is the heart of the film and Dev Patel (Skins, Slumdog Millionaire) its soul. The cinematography is brilliant, especially the filming in India. The camera-work is both expansive and intimate, shifting often from sweeping aerial panoramas of mountainous Indian countryside and tranquil Tasmanian waterways to narrow winding alleys, village markets, and the inner-world of Saroo's turmoil. Some of the most powerful scenes are shot from the eye-level of a terrified lost boy jostled by masses of humanity and the close-ups of Saroo's painful face desperate to know home. The colour palette is exotic, sound track emotionally intense, and the directing finds a rhythm that is almost orchestral.
This film offers an immensely satisfying cinematic experience: visually stunning, narratively powerful, and an emotional whirlwind. Lion is one of those films that will appeal to everyone.
The New Royalty Cinema screenings are at the centreCinema in Bourne End Community Centre, Wakeman Road, Bourne End SL8 5SX
Tickets can be bought online (follow the link in the film summary on this page) or from the Community Centre office or on the door (subject to availability)
For information on the BBFC film classifications: Click Here
The New Royalty Cinema is a community cinema run by volunteers as a fund-raising event for Bourne End (Bucks) Community Association, a charity registered in England and Wales No. 300236
