
Lion. 2016. Australia/Great Britain/USA. Directed by Garth Davis. 120 min.
The indomitability of the human spirit is a recurrent theme in some of the best-loved films in cinema history. Garth Davis's Lion updates the against-all-odds genre for the 21st century by reminding us that, no matter how far technology brings us, it is the heart that propels us forward. Based on the experiences of Saroo Brierley (as recounted in his nonfiction book A Long Way Home) and featuring moving performances by Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, Nicole Kidman, David Wenham, and the astonishing newcomer Sunny Pawar as a five-year-old Saroo lost on a train hurtling hundreds of miles away from the family he loves, Lion is a five-hanky triumph.