Many movies that are 'based on a true story' do not ring true in my opinion. Either the acting is over-the-top or the story itself too far fetched to be believable. However, in the past couple of years there have been some pretty good ones such as 'The Impossible', based on the Indian Ocean tsunami (the graphics were amazing if you have not seen it), 'Capote', based on the life of Truman Capote, and 'Everest', based on the disastrous climb in 1996 to the summit of Mt. Everest by a climbing party.
There is a new film out that is truly amazing and is good in so many ways. The film, 'Lion', based on the book 'A Long Way Home', is about a 5 year old boy who gets lost from his family in the poor district of an Indian village. Eventually the child is adopted and cared for by a wonderful family but once he is grown he begins to feel the need to find his mother and siblings.
First, the young actor who plays 'Saroo' is unbelievable! You are totally in a trance watching this young kid act out this part but you really believe he is experiencing everything on the screen. His performance is gut wrenching. The older 'Saroo', Dev Patel, does a great job as well, including the always wonderful Nicole Kidman. This movie works because the story is believable and the performers are so good.
The other thing is knowing that this is based on a true story. To see the life of the many poor people and how they live in the various Indian communities is very hard to watch at times but it makes you appreciate what you have and glad that 'Saroo' was able to 'find a way out' even thought it was by the events that took place. The ending is well worth the wait and awesome. This is a wonderfully acted film that touches your heart. Loved it!
- John Z.
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