'Lion' Movie: A True Story About Adoption

A couple weeks ago my Mom and I went to the theaters to watch the movie, Lion, that is about a young man who is adopted from India at the age of 5. This young man is plagued with relentless memories of his birth family and the horrible day when he accidentally fell asleep on a train and was separated from his family. As a 5 year old, he goes pondering through a large city in India, hours away from his small poor village. He experiences traumatic and gripping events that no child should ever have to endure. The movie is a story about how now at the age of 25, he tries to find his birth family after being adopted from an Australian family.

*Spoilers* Saroo at 5 Years Old:

The young boy is called Saroo played by young actor Sunny Pawar. They live in a deteriorating hut in a poor ghetto based in the middle of a deserted area. Saroo lives in the hut with his older brother Guddu, mother and younger sister. Their mother is illiterate and cannot read or write. Guddu is asked to work in the night and Saroo begs to come along. By the time they take the train to where Guddu must work, Saroo is exhausted. Guddu tells Saroo to stay sleeping on the train station bench until he comes back. Saroo falls asleep, but awakes in the middle of the night to then get on a train thinking that his brother will be on board. He falls asleep again and is startled to wake up on a moving train going somewhere where he doesn't know. He is alone on the train and tries screaming for help at scavenging locals who he passes by.

He finds himself getting off in the middle of a bustling Indian city where no one speaks his language. He tries to tell people what town he is from, but no one seems to know where that is. He tries asking for help, but no one can understand him and they push him away. Saroo's journey has just begun as he escapes from a potential kidnapping after finding other street children and sleeps with them for the night - sadly they are all kidnapped, probably to be trafficked. He wanders the streets for weeks trying to find food and one day meets a kind woman who invites him to her house and feeds him. She promises Saroo that she knows a man who can help him find his family, but after meeting the man, Saroo runs away because he believes that have bad intentions (sex trafficking probably). Saroo attracts a young Indian man who takes him to the police and place him in an orphanage. Saroo sees that directors of the orphanage are selling some children at night for money. He also sees how psychologically damaged so many of the other children are who stay at the orphanage for too long. One day, he is introduced to a woman who tries to find his birth family, but after no success, offers him the option to be adopted by an Australian family who want him. He accepts and is taught how to speak basic English and table manners.

He flies to Australia with a caretaker and meets his new family played by Nicole Kidman and David Wenham. They welcome him with kind hearts and such love that it made me smile because I know my family welcomed me with such excitement and love too. Saroo adapts well and brings a new sense of joy into his new family's hearts. Soon, they adopt another boy from India called Mantosh. From the beginning, the family struggles with Mantosh and his destructive, aggressive behaviour and self-harm. It made me really think about how completely different two adoptees can even if they are adopted from the same country.

Saroo at 25 Years Old:

Saroo is now played by Dev Patel from Slumdog Millionaire. He is a bright student who is majoring in Hotel Management. He still struggles with telling people he's adopted. Many adoptees have difficultly with it and the battle can truly be captured when Saroo is at a party with his girlfriend and new friends from India, who reply hesitantly when Saroo mentions he's adopted. You can tell from Saroo's expression and everyone else's body language, that no one knows what to say and the moment soon turns extremely awkward. It made me think back to my awkward moments and to other stories adoptees have told me when they tell people they're adopted. His friends react by volunteering to help him find his birth family where he hastily declines and leaves the room. He soon sees something in the kitchen that reminds him of his local market his brother and him used to go to in India. Saroo gets frequent flashbacks to his time in India.

Saroo begins to map out possibilities of what town he was from using Google Earth. He uses information on the speed of the train he was on, how long he was on that train, what he saw, the water tower that he saw at the station after Guddu left him sleeping on the train station bench. Saroo gets haunted by vivid memories of his birth family and his traumatizing separation while doing daily things. He quits school, breaks up with his girlfriend, disowns his brother by saying that he is not his 'real brother', and isolates himself from his family and becomes obsessed with finding his birth family. Meanwhile, his self-destructing brother is wreaking havoc in his family's lives and causing anguish and stress. Saroo realizes that his family needs him and goes back to help them. One day, after randomly scrolling across the lands of India on Google Earth, he sees familiar surroundings. He has found his village. He communicates to his family that he is going to India to find his birth family. He says to his parents that if he does find his birth mom, that it doesn't change the fact that his Mom and Dad are his parents. I really connected with that because even if I do find my birth family one day, my family will always be my family and will never be replaced by my birth family. Saroo finds his village and is overwhelmed with how much he remembers from a young boy. The village helps him re-connect with his birth Mother and birth sister. They have a beautiful reunion that would bring anyone to tears. There is so much hugging, kissing and so much cheering and overall relief and joy. Saroo is stricken with disbelief after his birth Mother tells him that Gurru is dead. He chooses to focus on the positive and the fact that he still found his Mother and sister. They show the real-life reunion at the end of the movie and oh god, it's heart warming. Makes me think about what it will be like if I meet my birth family. At the end, we found out that Saroo has been mispronouncing his name and his actual name means 'lion', hence the title of the movie.

*Spoilers over*

This movie is incredible. Because it is based on a true story, I felt I could deeply connect to all the emotions that Saroo and his family were going through. It made me connect the dots between Saroo's family in Australia and their constant battle raising his aggressive brother that captures how damaged some children can be and how a family struggles to handle that. I know many adoptee's parents feel helpless and want to give up because they don't know how to deal with such behaviour. Parents of adoptees have much difficultly too. At the end of the movie, it said that 81,000 children go missing in India. That's insane. 81,000 families are missing their children. 81,000 lives that are seen as worthless and usually forced to join human trafficking and other horrible things that no one should ever go through. So many families are impacted by missing children that around the world, not just in China and India. I thoroughly enjoyed how well each actor captured their role's emotions that were sincerely expressed through the screen.

This movie is for people who are separated from their home and hold hope that they'll find their way back. It is great for families who want to adopt and want to see the difficulties they may run into and acknowledge that every child is different. Difficulties including identity issues, abandonment and family rejection. On the other hand, it shows the devoted support between people who are not blood-related and doesn't let that stop them from loving unconditionally. The parents were exceptional and demonstrate the correct way of accepting a child from another country *adoptive parents take note*. My heart was with Saroo this whole movie. I highly highly recommend it to everyone, whether you're adopted or not, a parent of an adoptee or looking into adopting, or just want a insightful, touching and raw story... it's worth the watch.