After a few years, just the remembrance of this story still makes me shed a few tears. The book is amazing. It is not a literary masterpiece, I concede. However, when you learn that the story was true, it breaks your heart. I agree that the first part of the movie was more intense and moving. Still, the completion and the reckoning are only achieved in the second part. It was more than worth reading. It was more than worth watching. I highly recommend doing both.
1
Regardless of the movie's Hollywoodyan effects to make us cry, the message about how we should treat and care for those in need is valid, particularly now when we see so many child refugees in need.
One part of me will always feel I didn't do enough in life because I wasn't brave enough to adopt.
One part of me will always feel I didn't do enough in life because I wasn't brave enough to adopt.
2
lion is the live action version of finding Nemo
"Corporate propaganda behind the fable?" How you carry on! Sometimes it's healthy to put cynicism aside and just enjoy life. And movies.
5
Several months have gone by as I was waiting for the DVD from the public library and we just have finished watching the wonderfully made movie. The best acting was the little Saroo's acting. Surprised as well the movie did not receive Oscar for brilliant performances by Kidman and Dev Patel.
Yes it is a tear jerker all right but hey it is a true story after all.
The adoptive mum in real life has to be a powerful human soul and the dad as well.
Yes it is a tear jerker all right but hey it is a true story after all.
The adoptive mum in real life has to be a powerful human soul and the dad as well.
4
Or standing on a street corner in New York waiting for a lover, only to realize hours later that you were standing on the wrong corner. Your heart broke. Life seemed to be breaking apart. Maybe it all worked out or maybe the lover never trusted you again. Now the response would be a dozen irritated texts and having to run two blocks. Life goes on, but there are no longer any major consequences. Just a sense of less and less feeling, and the grave, of course.
1
I feel exactly the same way as Mr. Scott. The second half of the movie could have been edited much better, in my opinion. And the little boy who played the young Saroo, deserves an Oscar for his remarkable performance.
2
AO. Just saw this movie today, finally. I could not disagree your flip tone about this magnificent piece of writing, directing and cinematography. I love your reviews and yet in this one you seem sort of dismissive. You danced around whether its good or not good to you. To me, the adoptive mother of twins from 8,000 miles away, I was hooked and devastated every minute of it. I am rooting for this beautiful story to win Best Picture and Patel Best Actor. I wont soon forget this one.
11
Let the record show that a woman who adopted two children from another country responded well to a movie featuring a woman who adopted two children from another country.
6
The understanding and enjoyment of a film, as with any art or method of telling a story, is clearly subjective. I thought this was the one of best films I'd seen in a long time. I do enjoy reading reviews, though. They give me more to reflect on.
Thanks for giving this review, which reminds me that sometimes reviewers overthink, falsely analyze and just don't get it. (I'm just kidding. Maybe.)
Thanks for giving this review, which reminds me that sometimes reviewers overthink, falsely analyze and just don't get it. (I'm just kidding. Maybe.)
9
I've been around and had a lot more experiences than this reviewer. I believe this is an excellent film - even though it had a happy ending.
3
Me thinks A.O. Scott sees the world through his own Google colored lenses through which he miscasts and minimizes this heart-wrenching movie as a mercenary tale in the end, which I believe few people other than he noticed-must be pulling for La-La to win the Oscar.
3
I read the book and have yet to see the movie. If you are curious about filling in the blanks, I suggest you read the original. It actually has somewhat the same division between the tale of a lost child and the adult trying to find his family. It is a natural distinction if you acknowledge the child's tale is full of gaps while the adult has a whole different perspective. The adult storyline just isn't as exciting, to be honest, but solving the puzzle makes it worthwhile.
1
To try to make a film about an adopted child trying to find his birth family in the 21st century without the available technology at the center of the search would be foolish - the viewers would just be shouting at the screen - "Just Google her!" I actually loved watching his search get plotted out on hard-copy maps with string and push pins, and the film was no less moving for its Google Maps prominence. My husband met his half-sister for the first time when they were both in their sixties because Google finally made it possible for her to find him. He didn't know she existed - he'd spent his life as an only child. When they finally met, two nearly identical faces beaming, there were tears all around. Not as dramatic a story as "Lion," but lovely and life-changing for both of them. Yay, Google.
10
I also found my birth mother--and without Google. But instead, with a web of dedicated and sympathetic humans who used such technologies as photocopy machines, telephones, flashlights, and old phone books.
5
I've read a lot of negitive Google comments associated with this film and frankly I don't understand them. Google Maps was a tool in this guys toolbox, he used it because it allowed him to organize his search for his lost family. Would reviewers be raising the same objections to him using paper maps or microfilm records, or a compass? I didn't see anything dystopian about it.
36
Yes, I found your review through Google.
13
Google as my bowser, NYT search engine after that.
3
When publishing comments in response to movie or book reviews, PLEASE, NYT, screen out the spoilers (See Novatwin). Some people like to read the end of a book before starting it; I am not one of those.
5
I too left this movie unsatisfied, disappointed that the monotony of the second half nearly undid the beauty of the first. The first is riveting; the second seemed to be filling time until it could get to its ending. I would like to have spent more time in Saroo's Australian childhood—the slow discarding of the layers of India, the gradual acceptance of the western world, the turmoil of having feet in two places. To make a transition to a new life successfully, and then to be met with the possibility of resuming the former life: THAT I would find compelling.
15
I agree, but how can a film meet everyone's expectations? And do we really have to know everything about a person's life to appreciate a film of this extroardinary message? Today's Google World gives us all the information we never dreamed of, so maybe a bit of mystery and questioning is compelling as well.
3
"How can a film meet everyone's expectations" begs the question of how and with what conceptions choices are made. It's dismissive and basically cynical. The obvious intent of the writing/directing/producing was 1) to make a pitch for lost children in India by showing how easily it occurs, and 2) to get to the reunion of child and family of origin. Everything in-between, that which offers substance, subtlely and meat to the human experience, and helps the viewer appreciate Saroo the adult and his mental anguish, was sacrificed. Too bad.
For what it's worth, saw Lion tonight and enjoyed every minute of it and just want to share that I found my biological family, at the age of 43 in 2005. I had searched for twenty-plus years using every resource I could get my hands on including a private investigative firm that dropped me as a client six months in. And then one night, sitting in front of my laptop reviewing the dead end names and old addresses I'd accumulated a simple Google search of one of the names associated with a long ago former adddress of my biolgocal mother in Brooklyn was all it took. And just in the nick of time as she passed away soon after I finally met her and saw for the first time in my life someone I looked like.
I am eternally grateful to Google.
I am eternally grateful to Google.
77
A note to A. O. Scott, who says that Google brought me to this review.
No, Mr Scott, I looked for it specifically because I like your reviews.
No, Mr Scott, I looked for it specifically because I like your reviews.
5
I totally agree with A.O. Scott. The first half is mesmerizing. The second half shifts to an almost documentary feel, and there's a distance between the viewer and the events on screen that wasn't there in the first half. Even so, Nicole Kidman is fabulous. How could anyone not cry when she looks at the grown Saroo and says, "I hope you find her."
5
I found the review of 'Lion' to miss a salient point: it was adapted from the non-fiction book A Long Week Home by Saroo Brierley. Explaining a journey by a five year old boy through a labyrinth of danger to safety then back home again within a two hours format, a time-span suitable to a movie-going public? Complicated. I think the choices made sense and while I was left wondering at several points [Was that an orphanage, a prison? How did he get chosen out of that nightmare?] All in all an affirming testimony to courage, love and how important it is to take care of our children. Oh and I came home and searched for more information both here at the NYT and on duckduckgo.com.
6
I agree with Scott's comments that this was two movies in one.
The first a spell binding story about a child's disappearance and his Dickensian adventures. It was remarkably shot, and the acting by the little boy was engrossing.
Dev Patel tries heroically to breath life into the second half of the film. Unsuccessfully I thought. Kidman's performance as the tortured adopting mother was quite lovely. But this segment of the film simply didn't fit with the first segment.
On balance a fascinating story and well worth watching.
I read that the real Saroo would leave his body every night and return to India to tell his mother and family he was OK. Too bad that part of the story was ignored.
The first a spell binding story about a child's disappearance and his Dickensian adventures. It was remarkably shot, and the acting by the little boy was engrossing.
Dev Patel tries heroically to breath life into the second half of the film. Unsuccessfully I thought. Kidman's performance as the tortured adopting mother was quite lovely. But this segment of the film simply didn't fit with the first segment.
On balance a fascinating story and well worth watching.
I read that the real Saroo would leave his body every night and return to India to tell his mother and family he was OK. Too bad that part of the story was ignored.
8
What? That was stated quite obviously (almost too much!) I got it in a lovely way--remarkable.
4
Amazing movie, heartbreaking, gut wrenching and uplifting at the same time !! I don't buy that there was any Google angle... its just part of the narrative.
21
Heartbreaking, life affirming, fearful, joyous, edge of your seat thrilling, Saroo's accidental loss of family and home, brave courageous victory over the cruekties of abandoned childhood in Calcutta, fierce determination to survive! Ohmygod! That little Saroo-Sunny grabs your heart and won't let go! Anyone who has seen these brave little souls on the streets of big heartless Indian cities like Bombay, Delhi and Calcutta HAS to become his supporter. Sunny YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT!!! and then he does...becomes Dev Adult Tasmanian Sarpp and against all odds his road back to his Central Indian home and his mom and sister, and the loss of his beloved elder brother the very night he lost him on that train...and then to see REAL Saroo with REAL Mom and sister and his Tasmanian parents at the end--well I left the theater shaking with emotion and tears streaming down my face. One sees great films, yes,,but how many leave you so moved? I do so hope this film is showered with awards and can't wait to see dear Sunny in a tux at awards ceremonies in Dev's arms, as he was at the Golden Globes. Thank you all so much for this experience!
22
You should edit your comment to note that you've included a major spoiler! I haven't seen the movie yet, and I regret reading your comments.
10
Never reveal a surprise or ending. And, good writing rarely uses (needs) exclamation points.
2
@Aspen, never read comments before reading the book or seeing the movie. And good (really good) writing always surprises us.
Great movie! If all you saw while watching it were the Google logos, you are very cynical and need a hug. A real, live person got to meet his family 25 years after getting lost as a 5 year old! This isn't a made-up story, it really happened, and the arrival of Google Earth in 2001 facilitated that. Deal with it.
62
I'm no fan of google's corporate empire, but you're absolutely right, to tar and feather a truly great film because the protagonist used a tool, not unlike a shovel, to fulfill a lifelong dream is myopic at best. It didn't come across as a paid product placement at all, just a discovery.
38
Connected to the issue but not specific to the movie:
From the first moment that the internet became available to the masses, families that were broken up through adoption and other means have been using it to bypass legal systems, public policy, and geography to find information about each other and connect. Technology has made the secrecy of the dark era of adoption in the west impossible to maintain, which is a very good thing.
From the first moment that the internet became available to the masses, families that were broken up through adoption and other means have been using it to bypass legal systems, public policy, and geography to find information about each other and connect. Technology has made the secrecy of the dark era of adoption in the west impossible to maintain, which is a very good thing.
35
A great movie. Dev Patel makes everything he does become perfect!
14
I love Dev's work. If you have not seen The Man who knew Infinity, run don't walk to see it. Oscar worthy performances by Patel and Jeremy Irons. Loved it
1
As someone who was adopted from Korea as a baby, this movie wrecked me, but in a good way. I'd read this review ahead of time and went in expecting a bunch of Google product placement at the end. Aside from mentioning it in the referenced clunky dialogue and a few onscreen logos when the main character was searching, I didn't feel the corporate propaganda was overbearing. After all, that IS the tool he used to find his family. And no matter how Google chooses to promote its role in the story, it doesn't diminish, for me at least, the end result. A lost boy found his family. If only all of us who were lost could be so lucky.
54
If we only consider the heartwarming story of an orphan who uses technology to find his birthmother, then we miss the story containing the story. We miss a more interesting tale. The meta-story, the greater narrative, is still unfolding, we all have a role, and as Walt Whitman said, we all may contribute a verse. Who am I? Where do I come from? Why am I here? The subtext of "Lion" reasserts the fallacy that our deepest questions will be answered via technology. Does this techno-faith divert individuals from seeking a necessary inner reckoning? Given the amount of fear, anger and anxiety in the world today, it would seem that it might. Google doesn't need to broadside us with product placement in this movie. The seduction is more powerful as a whisper. A whisper from the heavens. A whisper within the mind. "Do not be troubled. Google is omniscient. Google is omnipotent. It will solve the most intransigent of your problems, answer the most profound of your questions. It will unveil the ineffable. Trust us, for we are good. Don't be evil." A modern-day oracle. The religious parallels are uncanny, and in the midst of our enchantment, we forget, or ignore, that technology casts an enormous shadow. But technology is a miracle conjured by ourselves. Our infatuation is understandable. However, in our zeal to achieve we have been infected by a malignant hubris, and powerful economic forces keep us in denial to the coming convergence of catastrophes. Oh, what a story that will be.
7
I think you are underestimating the appearance of Google Earth into our vocabulary and daily use in 2001. What Saroo accomplished online would have cost him a ridiculous amount of time, money, and stamina in person. His friends introducing him to the product changed his life, it wasn't a blatant puke-fest like AOL's 'You've Got Mail' movie.
10
This is the most overblown commentary, what a trial to get through it. As for your accusation, Tova, of 'us' being infected by 'malignant hubris' -- that didn't start with technology. Are 'we' all 'infected' by i and in 'denial to the coming convergence of catastrophes'? Do you mind elaborating of these 'catastrophes' other than Trump and Co.?
3
I saw the real Saroo speak about his experience at a Google conference a couple years ago. It completely blew me away. The memory of his young mind was extraordinary. We moved when i was 7, and I tried to picture where I lived and my school (at age 6) and whether I could get myself home from school based on memory- no way! The bottom line is, the only way that he found his family was through Google Earth. Commercial or not, there is no way it could have happened without that technology. His story was incredibly moving.
68
Just saw the movie not knowing anything about it and I, along with most of the theater, cried from beginning to end. What an incredible story and the little boy, Sunny, who stars in the movie has to act out some rough stuff and does so brilliantly. Bring the tissues and try to keep your heart from breaking. The director did a q&a after our screening. FYI he travelled with Saroo to India and interviewed Saroo's mother. He was very committed to doing the true story justice although he admits compression of some time periods and leaving a few things out (like the third brother) to tell the story in 2 hours. Run out and see it before you find out too much!
32
Moonlight was sold out and tickets for Lion were available. Never even heard of it but we got the last tickets available, took our seats and proceeded to be blown away, in a very, very good way. Completely and immediately transported to another world. And like most everyone else in the packed theater, the tears just streamed down our faces, especially at the end. And while it may have been manipulation it didn't feel like it. Special movie.
42
Even a movie showing positive promise of tech can't sway the LiberalArts Media Narrative:
New technology (except Facebook) = Evil (in some unknown, un-written, guazy manner author can't even put into words.) Heard it.
Great. Perhaps a little nuance.
New technology (except Facebook) = Evil (in some unknown, un-written, guazy manner author can't even put into words.) Heard it.
Great. Perhaps a little nuance.
4
It sounds rather delicious, but I find most contemporary two-hour films to be ultimately disappointing, always have. Now and then there is a staggeringly intimate film like "Moonlight" or an intensely focused, erotic one like "The Piano Teacher" or a thrilling, scary story like "The Music Box", rare films you want to go back and see again and again. I don't have a problem with technology. It's brought me so much joy as a digital artist (I'm CutZy McCall), and connected me with so many wonderful people throughout the world via my warm, friendly, creative community on Google+, that I am simply grateful to it for widening my vision. I want to see this film, however, because I love a good weepie, even if it does, inevitably, let me down.
2
The lost art of exploration is not lost nor forgotten. The annals of humanity abound with such occurrences where new technologies seem to announce the end of exploration. Yet, time and time again humanity defines new frontiers and develops new technologies to explore these newly defined goals. We occupy a short, precarious and distinct place in the time space continuum that we can either choose to utilize to its fullest potential or allow it to be defined by our fears. "Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. if I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing,
it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it.
On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning" (Mahatma Gandhi).
"Lion" enlightens all of us about the the achievable possibilities of the human spirit. Let us not be defined by our fears but rather by the our greatest gift, our inquisitive mind and our endless desire to explore the universe.
it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it.
On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it, even if I may not have it at the beginning" (Mahatma Gandhi).
"Lion" enlightens all of us about the the achievable possibilities of the human spirit. Let us not be defined by our fears but rather by the our greatest gift, our inquisitive mind and our endless desire to explore the universe.
9
Just saw a preview of Lion, I think it might even be better than Moonlight or at least just as good. I'm hesitant to compare the two films as they are unique & equally worthy of praise.
Lion was emotional & brilliant - beautiful to watch. Quite an undertaking to adapt a true story & well done in this case.
Wait until what you find out why the movie is called Lion. So special!
Lion was emotional & brilliant - beautiful to watch. Quite an undertaking to adapt a true story & well done in this case.
Wait until what you find out why the movie is called Lion. So special!
15
My only question: Given that I have no idea about the "true story," and I'm not into romance movies (and thought Slumdog Millionaire was entertaining...because I saw it on a free DVD borrowed from the library), should I go with my friends when they watch movies in the theater at the end of the year?
3
The book the film is based on, A Long Way Home, is a very compelling read with a deeply emotional story that won't let you go. Given the nature of the author's story and dilemma, the development of Google search and his use of it, are central to eventually resolving his life's central drama. Haven't seen the film yet, but I loved the book, reading it cover to cover on a long international flight... highly recommended.
24
In other words, it's a middle-brow weepie. Which is why Harvey Weinstein purchased it and why he's promoting the hell out of it and why he's chosen it as the movie with which he'll be making his annual bid for Oscar glory. The buzz has already begun. The movie itself is merely incidental.
20
Why do I suspect Mr Freeman has not condescended to actually view this
"middle-brow weepie"? Too bad for him. I've no love lost for Harvey Weinstein (who did his best to ruin the American release of Le Concert by stupidly chopping out twelve minutes. Le Concert is another film I'm sure Mr. Freeman would despise. I have watched it again and again.) Maybe Stu would at least get pleasure out of Lion's old trains.
"middle-brow weepie"? Too bad for him. I've no love lost for Harvey Weinstein (who did his best to ruin the American release of Le Concert by stupidly chopping out twelve minutes. Le Concert is another film I'm sure Mr. Freeman would despise. I have watched it again and again.) Maybe Stu would at least get pleasure out of Lion's old trains.
2
in what ways, pray tell, is this a "middle-brow" weepie. In what respects did it disappoint you?
Incredible 3 last sentences to AO Scott's LION review, especially the final honest phrase....i intend to circulate with credit:
"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."
"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."
33
We are losing the gift of curiosity that can't be resolved with a click; living with all our senses; being able to delay gratification and in the case of those who have lived on screens and phones since birth, the suffocation of being in contact primarily with those who think as they do. Consider this, written by a millennial writer: "Discussion is one of the skills the Millennials didn’t learn because we overdosed on social media, a type of media engineered to feed us only things we’d like. And for years, its algorithm put us in these bubbles, these “echo chambers” where all we read and watched validated our own beliefs. We too often didn’t take the time to imagine life from any other perspective than our own.
We need to discuss with one another, and we need to discuss with people who think differently. So what can a Millennial discuss with someone 50 years our senior? We are finally listening. " http://matadornetwork.com/life/millennial-elders-poignant-discussion-tru...
We need to discuss with one another, and we need to discuss with people who think differently. So what can a Millennial discuss with someone 50 years our senior? We are finally listening. " http://matadornetwork.com/life/millennial-elders-poignant-discussion-tru...
56
Mary... have you read the book or seen the film??!! If not, you don't have a clue how relevant the development of Google and related searches and data are to this deeply emotional, real life story.
22
Right on the nose!
5
Great review but let down by being depressingly safe and dishonest. This movie is based on a true story - which makes your attacks on Google, A.O Scott, pretty weird and really disheartening. Your review of 'Allied,' a good movie but one infinitely inferior movie to "Lion" was so much more generous. Why is that?
42
Probably because the reviewer is perceptive and unwilling to be bought by corporate charm.
32
"Unwilling to be bought by corporate charm"? What does this even mean? Corporations have no charm. But this film did and it had nothing to do with Google. You should see it so you can judge for yourself.
7
Your review is quite good and spot-on. Thank you.
13
Spot on what ?!?
2