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FILM REVIEW: Lion (2016) – filmed in India and Australia
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FILM REVIEW: Lion (2016) – filmed in India and Australia

April 21st, 2017 Sonja ENGLISH FILMS, FILM REVIEWS, FILMED IN AUSTRALIA, FILMED IN INDIA, NEW FILMS, NEW POSTS
FILM REVIEW: Lion (2016) – filmed in India and Australia
(Last Updated On: 2nd November 2018)

Based on a real story, Lion tells the incredible tale of a five-year-old boy who gets lost and survives on the streets of Calcutta before being adopted by a couple from Australia. 20 years later, he starts a near impossible quest to find his long-lost family.…

 

 

The Story

In 1986, five-year-old Saroo (Sunny Pawar), lives with his older brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate), his mother (Priyanka Bose) and his younger sister in a small town called Ganesh Talai in Khandwa, India. His family is poor, but Saroo nevertheless is a happy child. He seems to adore his older brother Guddu, which whom he steals coals from freight trains in order to trade the coal for milk and food.

But one day, Saroo and Guddu lose each other after Saroo fell asleep on a bench. In search for his brother, he boards a train, which then starts moving and takes Saroo to the far-away city of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).

1500 miles away from home, little Saroo somehow manages to survive on the streets of Kolkata before he is taken into an orphanage and then adopted by an Australian couple, who live on the island of Tasmania.

Saroo and Guddu as children in India. © Long Way Home Productions 2015

Saroo and Guddu as children in India. © Long Way Home Productions 2015

20 years later, Saroo (now played by Dev Patel) moves to Melbourne to study hotel management and starts a relationship with American student Lucy (Rooney Mara). When he tells his new the fellow students that he is adopted, Saroo becomes increasingly driven by the desire to know what has happened to his family back in India.

In a near impossible quest, he starts meticulously searching Google Earth in order to find his home town in India…

Saroo as a grown-up man in Australia. © Long Way Home Productions 2015

Saroo as a grown-up man in Australia. © Long Way Home Productions 2015

The Location

Half-way round the world: From India to Australia

As the film is based on the true life story of Saroo Brierley, much of the film was shot at the original locations of Ganesh Talai in Khandwa. The other main filming location in India was the city of Kolkata in West Bengal.

Saroo's biological mother in India. © Long Way Home Productions 2015

Saroo's biological mother in India. © Long Way Home Productions 2015

The Australian filming locations include the city of Melbourne in Victoria as well as Hobart, Tasmania; Marion Bay, Tasmania (for the scenes where the family plays cricket on the beach); Mount Wellington, Tasmania (when Saroo and Lucy look over the city of Hobart); Bruny Island, Tasmania; Cape Hauy, Tasmania and Recherche Bay, South West Tasmania.

Saroo and his adoptive mother (portrayed by Nicole Kidman) in Tasmania. © Long Way Home Productions 2015

Saroo and his adoptive mother (portrayed by Nicole Kidman) in Tasmania. © Long Way Home Productions 2015

The Performance

If you have ever seen one of these family reunion shows on TV and you were touched then, you will be touched by Lion for sure! It's quite remarkable that this incredible story is based on (and comes very close to) the true life story of Saroo Brierley.

But what I really loved about film was that the director chose to tell the story in chronological order instead of using flashbacks. This means, the first half is just about the two brothers in India and the second part just about Saroo's time in Australia.

And the location for the ending of the film? I'll let you find out yourself…

Dinner table in "Lion". © Long Way Home Productions 2015

Dinner table in "Lion". © Long Way Home Productions 2015

Oscar-nominated Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman (who plays Saroo's adoptive mother Sue Brierley) deliver outstanding performances, of course, but the young Indian actors deserve some credit, too. In his next film, young-Saroo-actor Sunny Pawar even stars next to Freida Pinto and Demi Moore: Up-coming movie Love Sonia, is equally inspired by true events and tells the story of a young girl who gets caught up in the world of international sex trafficking in India.

The final verdict:

A very emotional, but beautifully captured true story! Some scenes in the second half were a little bit too slow-paced for my taste, but I loved the fact that the story was told in chronological order!

**** 4 out of 5 stars

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Sonja

Sonja

I am an ex London expat now living back in Germany. Having worked part-time in a cinema since my school days, the cinema (or in 2020 rather Netflix & co) is my second home. If you don't find me there, I am probably travelling the world in order to trace my favourite film locations and film settings. On filmfantravel.com, I combine these two passions by sharing my best tips about film-inspired travel. Join the journey on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @filmfantravel!

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Sonja | Film & Travel Writer


Christmas is almost over and although many things 
Christmas is almost over and although many things have been different this year, some things never change... Such as our favourite Christmas movies that we can watch over and over again... and that make us dream about future travel destinations! 😉 💭 

One of my favourite Christmas series to look forward to this year was the second season of the Norwegian romcom series “Home for Christmas” (OT: Hjem til jul) with @idaelisebroch_official and @felixsandman! The series was released on Netflix on 18 December 2020. 

When I was working as a tour guide in Norway this summer, I was lucky enough to pass by Røros - the UNESCO world heritage town that served as the setting and main film location for the series! 

Read more about the series and its film location Røros on my blog FilmFanTravel.com(link in my bio above)! 

Which Christmas movie has inspired your upcoming travels? 

Photo 1: Scene from “Home for Christmas” (2019-) filmed in Røros, Norway. © Netflix. Photo 2: Me at the same street in Røros, Norway in August 2020. © Sonja Irani / FilmFanTravel.com

#destinationroros #destinasjonrøros  #netflix #netflixshows #norway #roros #homeforchristmasnetflix #hjemtiljul #dreamchasersnorway #traveleurope #filminspiredtravel #filmlocation #filmlocations #movielocations #lovescandinavia #norway #visitnorway #bestofscandinavia #dreamynorway #norwaytravel #norwaytrip #onlyinnorway #rorørosregionen #godjul @visitnorway

Just like American Marketing Manager Emily in the 
Just like American Marketing Manager Emily in the new Netflix series “Emily in Paris”, I followed almost every fashion trend back in 2007. 😂🤷🏻‍♀️Here I am in front of the Eiffel Tower wearing a massive “link chain necklace”. Hey, it was fashionable at the time, okay? InStyle magazine said so! 😂🙈

Writing my newest film review about the American girl who makes the big move to Paris (link currently in bio), I realised that it has been exactly 10 years since my last visit to the city of love in 2010. So I really would like to go back in 2021.

Who else was inspired to put Paris on their post-pandemic travel list by watching “Emily in Paris”?

Photo 1: Scene from “Emily in Paris” (2020-). © Netflix. Photo 2: © Sonja Irani / FilmFanTravel.com

#emilyinparis #netflix #netflixshows #paris #france #citytrip #traveleurope #filminspiredtravel #filmlocation #filmlocations #movielocations #lilycollins #thisisparis #visitparis #ig_paris #parisianlife #hello_france #parisjetaime #parislife #exploreparis

Blarney Castle near Cork, Ireland in full autumn b
Blarney Castle near Cork, Ireland in full autumn bloom back in October 2016.

The castle’s unique attraction is to kiss the famous Blarney stone on top of the castle. What’s more... you apparently get the gift of eloquence afterwards. The catch: You have to lean over backwards - head first - to reach it! Apart from that, kissing a stone that millions others have kissed before is not exactly in line with the current Covid hygiene rules... 😂

As far as I know Blarney Castle itself has not yet been used as a filming location, but the website states that it’s open for bookings for TV and movie crews. Maybe something to look forward to in the year 1 or 2 AC (After Corona). 😂🙈 Let’s hope so because with Ireland being the main film location of major TV and movie productions such as “Game of Thrones”, “Star Wars” and “Vikings”, there is much to discover for film fans! 🤗
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#blarneycastleandgardens #autumn #autumnleaves #filminspiredtravel #ireland #loveireland #irelandtravel #discoverireland #map_of_europe #visitireland #instaireland #irland #irish_daily #daily_ireland #images_ireland  #castle #castlesineurope #castlesinfall #colorsinfall #castlesofireland #autumncolours

21st of April 2017: Today thee years ago, I landed
21st of April 2017: Today thee years ago, I landed in Iceland and traced the film locations of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty“ (2013), “Vikings“ (2013-) and co. Here I boarded a puffin bird watching boat tour from Iceland’s capital Reykjavik. An experience just like the ones you can see in the bird watching comedy “The Big Year” (2011). To read more about that tour, check out my current website link above. 
Who has been to Iceland so far? And who has got Iceland on their bucket list for future travel?

#DreamNowVisitLater #OnlyInIceland #Iceland #IcelandTravel #VisitIceland #FilmInspiredTravel #TravelBucketList #TravelEurope #GuidetoIceland #TravelTuesday #TravelFromHome #InspiredByIceland #DreamNowTravelLater #TourismTuesday #Puffin #Puffins #PuffinIceland #PuffinWatching


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