Lion

Though there are shades of Slumdog Millionaire in its gripping depiction of a young boy thrown by fate onto the streets of India, this affecting true story still has plenty to offer. Based on the memoir A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley, the story unfolds across two time periods. The first is 1986, when five-year-old Saroo (the wonderful Sunny Pawar), a child from a poor, remote village, accompanies his brother on a trip to find work. The two are separated, and after falling asleep on a passenger train Saroo wakes up in Calcutta with no money and no means of identification. Fast-forward to 25 years later: adopted from an orphanage by a loving Australian couple (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham), Saroo (now played by the adult Dev Patel) is haunted by memories of his family. Are they still looking for him? The set-up is exhilarating, but the pay-off not so much - Google maps and train timetables may well provide the key to finding the way home, but it's hardly very cinematic.