I almost didn’t see Lion.
From the trailer, I could tell the movie had the dreaded Disney structure:
Child has a beloved family.
Child is ripped from his beloved family within the first five minutes.
Child spends the rest of the movie looking for his beloved family.
Let’s face it — that story line is hard enough to watch when little cartoon characters are involved; I wasn’t sure I could stomach it with real people.
And I wasn’t altogether wrong.
But this true story — and the actors who portray it — are so compelling, I couldn’t have looked way if I had wanted to. It is heartbreaking and life-affirming, all at the same time.
And I hope, in the course of my life, I can be one-tenth as brave as that little boy.