Lion
PG-13

Lion

The search begins

2016 • 118 min • Drama

Synopsis

A five-year-old Indian boy gets lost on the streets of Calcutta, 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.

Our family guide

Best from age 12
77
Movie Knight Score
7018 reviews
  • 75 Reviewers · 4 · 60%
  • 80 Audience · 7014 · 40%

A five-year-old Indian boy is separated from his family and eventually adopted by an Australian couple. Decades later, he uses technology to search for his birth family, leading to an emotional journey of self-discovery and connection.

Violence & peril
3/10
Language
2/10
Drinking, drugs & smoking
1/10
Romance & sensuality
1/10
Scary moments
4/10

Heads up

  • Scenes of a child in peril
  • Brief mild language
  • Emotional and intense moments

What it models well

  • Resilience in the face of adversity
  • The power of family bonds
  • Finding identity
  • Hope and perseverance

Talk about it after

  • The challenges faced by homeless children
  • The process and impact of international adoption
  • How technology can connect people
  • The importance of knowing your roots

Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for Lion. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.

Where to watch

Links go straight to each service. Some are affiliate links that support Movie Knight at no cost to you. Availability data by JustWatch via TMDB.

Top billed cast

Director: Garth Davis • Crew: Luke Davies

Trailers & clips

LION - The Journey Home

LION Cast Q&A: Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, Priyanka Bose, Rooney Mara and more | TIFF 2016

Lion - 6 Academy Award Nominations

Academy Conversations: Lion

Lion - "6 Academy Award Nominations"

Producer Emile Sherman talks LION

Director Garth Davis talks LION

LION - TRAILER (60")

Reviewer notes

Recommended

Though it’s Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman who take top billing, it’s the hugely engaging Sunny Pawar who steals his scenes here as the young Saroo. He’s growing up in rural India with his elder brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate) living fairly hand to mouth with their mother (Khushi Solanki) and so the two set off into the city to try to make some cash.…

Recommended

**A film of great quality, although marked by the duality of the script and by an excessive emotional appeal.** This film, for me, has one big point for it and one big point against it. The point in its favor is that it is consistently based on a true story, and as far as I can tell it has been relatively faithful to events.…

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

**Lost in India, found in Australia!** Based on the book 'A Long Way Home' that tells the story of a young Indian boy who lost his brother in a railway station in the night and the next morning he woke up thousands kilometers away from home. Not knowing the language or the address and the names of his family, he struggled from various threats in the society.…

Not recommendedTrusted family reviewers

An interesting true story. Film starts well and ends well. In the middle, there is a rapid acceleration from being a boy to being a man that misses out on a lot of an explanation as to how he ended up being the person he was. Quite boring in the middle of the film, which is a shame since the young actor was excellent.

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Gallery

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Details

TMDB audience
8.0/10 (7,014)
Age rating
PG-13
Status
Released
Budget
$12,000,000
Box office
$140,312,928

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