Heart-rending tale of an epic search starring Dev Patel, Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman, will reduce you to puddles of saltwater em

Starring: Dev Patel, Nicole Kidman, David Wenham, Rooney Mara, Sunny Pawar, Priyanka Bose, Abhishek Bharate, Deepti Naval.

Saroo (Sunny Pawar) lives in 1987 Khandwa with his mother Kamla (Priyanka Bose) and siblings. The five-year-old idolises his 12-year-old brother Guddu (Abhishek Bharate) and the two boys embark on a night-time excursion to the local railway station. A horrible twist of fate separates the children and Saroo is trapped aboard a train, which heads 1,600km east to the bustling shanty towns of Calcutta. Unable to speak the language, the boy eventually meets Saroj Sood (Deepti Naval), who runs the Indian Society for Sponsorship and Adoption and places him with adoptive parents John and Sue Brierley (David Wenham, Nicole Kidman) in Hobart, Tasmania. Many years later, Saroo (now played by Dev Patel) is encouraged by fellow student Lucy (Rooney Mara) to use online satellite mapping software to trace the railway line from Calcutta back west to locate his biological family. Skilfully adapted by screenwriter Luke Davies from Saroo Brierley's non-fiction book A Long Way Home, Lion is a majestic, heartfelt drama that delivers an almighty emotional wallop as the lead character pieces together his past. Director Garth Davis deftly moves between time frames as he elicits riveting performances from Patel and Pawar, and Kidman as a proud mother who will never stand in the way of her beautiful boy tracing his bloodline. Cinematographer Greig Fraser captures locations on two continents in rich and meticulous detail, providing a compelling backdrop to heart-wrenching trials and tribulations that will reduce viewers to puddles of saltwater emotion.

Rating: ****