Regie:
Garth DavisDrehbuch:
Luke DaviesKamera:
Greig FraserBesetzung:
Dev Patel, Sunny Pawar, Priyanka Bose, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Deepti Naval, David Wenham, Nicole Kidman, Todd Sampson, Rooney Mara (mehr)Streaming (5)
Inhalte(1)
Ein Tag wie jeder andere im Leben des fünfjährigen Saroo: Auf dem Bahnhof der indischen Kleinstadt, in der sein Bruder ihn für einige Stunden zurückgelassen hat, sucht er nach Münzen und Essensresten. Vor Erschöpfung schläft er schließlich in einem haltenden Zug ein und findet sich nach einer traumatischen Zugfahrt am anderen Ende des Kontinents in Kalkutta wieder. Auf sich allein gestellt irrt er wochenlang durch die gefährlichen Straßen der Stadt, bis er in einem Waisenhaus landet, wo er von Sue (Nicole Kidman) und John Brierley (David Wenham) adoptiert wird, die ihm ein liebevolles Zuhause in Australien schenken. Viele Jahre später lebt Saroo in Melbourne, ist beruflich erfolgreich und wohnt mit seiner Freundin Lucy (Rooney Mara) zusammen. Er könnte rundum glücklich sein, doch die Frage nach seiner Herkunft lässt ihn nicht los. Nacht für Nacht fährt er mit Google Earth auf seinem Laptop das Zugnetz Indiens ab, zoomt auf hunderte von Bahnhöfen und sucht nach Hinweisen auf seinen früheren Wohnort und seine leibliche Familie. Er hat die Hoffnung schon fast aufgegeben, als das Unglaubliche passiert und er im Internet auf ein Dorf stößt, das seiner Erinnerung entspricht... (Universum Film)
(mehr)Kritiken (9)
Das spannende erste Drittel mit dem verlorenen Sunny Pawar ist ausgezeichnet. Der Junge hat einen Schritt in Richtung Hollywood gemacht. So ein fotogener und talentierter Kinderschauspieler taucht dort einmal in zehn Jahren auf. Bei dem späteren Geschehen funktioniert das Erzählen von Ursachen/Folgen nicht so richtig. Am Ende wird der Eindruck dadurch verdorben, dass man die Zuschauer*innen langwierig und augenscheinlich emotional ausquetschen möchte.
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Dev Patel hat sich vom nerdigen Slumdog weit entfernt, Rooney Mara überraschte mit ihrer Höflichkeit und Nicole Kidman bestätigte ihr Können und das Gewicht ihrer Berühmtheit, die sehr oft ein Kompass für hochwertige Filmerlebnisse ist. Ich atmete tief durch und kehrte langsam zu den Wurzeln meiner Liebe zum indischen Kino zurück, inspiriert von einer Reihe von Dramen von ähnlichem Rang wie Lion. Wenn Ihnen Pathos nicht gleichgültig ist und Sie die Geschichte für den Mittelpunkt der Filmerzählung halten, sind Sie hier genau richtig.
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Eine schöne, eindrucksvolle Geschichte, die mich fast zum Weinen brachte. Von allen für einen Oscar nominierten Filmen habe ich mir diesen aufgespart, und zusammen mit Manchester by the Sea und Hacksaw Ridge - Die Entscheidung ist er der einzige Film, der die Nominierung zu Recht erhielt. Eine fesselnde Geschichte eines Wegs voller Leiden, eine hervorragende Leistung von Dev Patel und Nicole Kidman. Traurig, sehr traurig.
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The first half, set in India, is almost worthy of a full rating, it makes you realise how spoiled and pampered our Western civilisation is, with all the packed supermarkets, hygiene standards and plenty of drinking water. The Indian realities are fantastically rendered here, last seen so impressively in a Hollywood studio film 9 years ago in Slumdog Millionaire. Unfortunately, the rest of the film is a drawn out thing that could have been told in 10 minutes, while emotionally it only slightly touched me. It’s a shame, the potential was there. This film is proof of what masters the Weinstein brothers are at promoting their films in the pre-Oscars season, the boys are able to push it beautifully with academics and journalists, the nominations are out of whack.
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If I think about it, this movie has the most beautiful premise of all those movies nominated for an Oscar. You see, it shows that the existence of the Western world sometimes really does make sense. I feel sorry that the first half of the movie with the Indian lead role is much nicer and better than the other half. Dev Patel, even though he is a very good actor, put into the movie a whole number of questions and misunderstood moments, which is not say that I have to understand those, but he simply didn’t convince me to actually root for him. Sunny Pawar was probably the best child actor I have ever seen and scenes involving him were a pure balm for the soul. I must say that it’s been quite long sice I had two opinions about a single movie that are so strongly influenced by the acting performance in the lead role. But as a whole, I do agree that Lion is a huge movie and it’s beautiful to see that even stories like these can have a happy ending.
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I wasn't sure about the one-sided focus on pitying orphaned or abandoned Indian children, but when the motives increase with each passing minute, it turns into a whole different story. Saroo is not only searching for family and answers, but also himself, and in the portrayal by a seasoned Dev Patel, I believe him in this role to the very last minute. When combined with Nicole Kidman's well-received dramatic comeback, this year's academic underdog becomes a surprisingly ambitious piece, easily surpassing some of the overly obvious favorites.
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Whether you like it or not, a heart string press based on actual events is its own category, too, and within that category Lion doesn't deliver anything downright tasteless or silly. That's mostly due to the focus on the cheerless conditions in India, especially if you're a kid who's sick of permanent rape, and especially the almost documentary-like cinematography of this magically chaotic landscape. The camera also helps, which spends the first act skillfully scanning the surroundings, often from the position of the five-year-old protagonist, or following him almost neorealistically through the clutter of the city from afar. The actual searches and the visually depicted emotional bonding became a little yawn-inducing, but I think that's mostly due to the more challenging empathetic connection of a white, contented bastard from central Europe (me, that is) who has little in common with an Indian adopted orphan. I don't blame the stroking of the wall and the melancholy soaking in water at all, and if I did, every five minutes of Rooney Mara is a funfair for me.
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For me, Dev Patel is one of the very interesting and talented young actors. The Indian environment interests me because it is different, because it is both beautiful and dark in its poverty. Both aspects came together beautifully in Lion, where you wish for the finale, even though you know it won't come without a cost. A very intense film, and I mean that in a good way.
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Many will probably label this film as a shallow and formulaic drama, whatever. I happen to be thrilled that I needed a tissue for a stream of tears after a very long time. The music and cinematography certainly deserve praise, as does the director himself, given that this is his first feature film. Making a film based on a true story is always a challenge, a director should respect the story but at the same time he or she is making a film for the audience, it's not an easy task and I think Davis did it well. But I don't really understand the Oscar nominations this year, I'm not saying Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman were bad, but little Sunny Pawar crushed them both. Sunny is a small wonder and discovery for me, and I rank him right up there with Onata Aprile (What Maisie Knew) and Jacob Tremblay (Room) in terms of child actor talent; these three moved me more than their adult colleagues. The first half of the film tore my heart out, you realise what a different world you live in, and most importantly I was thinking the whole time: bloody hell, couldn’t you just stay on that bench?
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