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I don’t normally review movies on this here blog. In fact, I can only think of one (though I could be wrong) and that was the live-action Cinderella, for which I had to deeply apologize after I’d actually seen it because “happily ever after” was NOT the theme of that movie!

But last night Drollery and I went to see Lion with Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, and David Wenham and I am compelled to write a wee bit of something about it on here.

In case you’re not familiar with the movie yet, it’s about five-year-old Indian boy Saroo who gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, India thousands of kilometers from home. He survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia; 25 years later, he sets out to find his lost family.
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Stef and PushpaThis movie hit very close to home for us as our daughter Stefanie Kavitha is from Bangalore, India. But for the grace of God her story was very different from Saroo’s. Still there was much in the movie that was also the same. I am normally the soft-hearted one who cries every time I see the Beauty and the Beast (being released March 27th, btw) trailer, but last night Drollery cried through the entire movie.

As for me, one thing in the adoptive mother’s story caused me to gasp. When she was ten or twelve (can’t remember) Sue Brierley had a vision cheryl-her-favorite-dollof her life. She was standing looking out at a field when she saw a small brown child running to her. She made a decision that when the time came for a family, she would adopt a child. The movie explained it well. The reason it so struck me was because when I was three my favorite doll was a dark-skinned baby. It made me wonder if other adoptive parents have had similar experiences.

I also left the movie feeling vindicated about something. When Stef was in her early 20’s she went to India with friends. One of the places they went was

Groupie!

Bangalore, where she was from. It was my fondest wish that she try to locate her mother while she was there, but she was very much against the idea. Though I let it drop since it was her life, not mine, I’ve always felt a deep sense of regret that she didn’t try to find Pushpa and her older brother. Everything in me wanted her mom to see what a wonderful woman she’d grown into. Some of my friends thought it was very odd that I’d feel that way, so I was surprised and relieved to hear Saroo’s mom say the same thing in the movie, though in the interview below she says she did fear he would be disappointed.

In 2015 62,988 children disappeared from the streets in India. This movie shows what some of that looks like. We are so blessed here. If a child is lost or found not knowing where their parents are, there are agencies to step in and help. Not so much in a country with 1.2 billion people. I think everyone should see this movie.

This is a video of the real Brierley family. And, btw, the name of movie comes from Saroo’s name which he had been spelling wrong. His name was Sheru, the Hindi word for LION.