Lion

Lion is a title to a movie which is based on true events and it tells a story about a very young Indian boy who gets lost and through different obstacles finds himself adopted by an Australian family where he grows up, eventually finding himself in need to find his birth mother, brother and - home.

The story itself is somewhat divided into 2 parts - we get to really experience the young boys journey and then his life in middle twenties as he starts to look for home.


The movie is very good but I want to enhance what I liked the most:

• The young boy - Sunny Pawar (his first film and first time traveling with airplanes by the way) - such a cute looking and sounding boy! Can't remember the last time I was so fond of a kid in a movie. Very lovely youngster. 
• Rooney Mara. Especially because it wasn't about her. She still managed to win my heart by portraying a down to earth, genuine person who cares. The subtle things she can do amaze me. This time it was this small tremble of her lower lip for about 2 seconds that just caught my eye. Great. Sold.
• Dev Patels' voice. In general. He looks good too, don't get me wrong, but his voice..
• How music cooperated into colliding timelines. This one is a bit hard to explain. If you are interested, feel free to ask? It may contain spoilers. 

There wasn't anything in particular that I did not like. Don't see why Nicole Kidman was nominated for an Oscar for this (can't believe there weren't better options. She is not bad, but usually the academy nominate extraordinary performances and this wasn't it). Otherwise - I connected to the story at some point, felt a bit emotional at the end (yes, many women and some men tend to cry after this piece) but still - something didn't work for me, hence the rating. 

Rating: ★★★½

20th Century Women

I don't know where to start. Sometimes it's hard to put down in words the things you feel during and afterwards.
The director and the writer Mike Mills drew from his life with women that were around him to make this film. It's about a single mother trying to figure out how to raise her teenage boy into a good man. She seeks help from two other (and different character-wise) women that linger around the house for different reasons. 
It was so good for me. Throughout the entire movie a sense of sadness is always there. Sometimes it's very blunt, sometimes very subtle. At points it gets heavy and at others - humour appears.
Always fantastic to see movies where the characters are well made. Here we got to see more than two:
Annette Bening does a fantastic job showing a non-stereotypical mother - a mother who has her good sides and many different flaws. I have no wonder anymore why she got an Oscar nomination. 
Greta Gerwig - one of my favorites in everything (this is a lie - I have not seen EVERYTHING) she does and this is no exception. She masterfully shows an artistic woman who has these "different" views on life and who doesn't live by the standard rules. She has heart and crazy good looking red hair. Very pleasant to watch her work. 
Although Elle Fanning played a character that I felt like I've seen before doesn't take away that she also did good in my eyes. Through her we see a somewhat cool, rebellious (she has her reasons) late-teenager who has sh*t of her own which is not shown that much because it's not the point of the movie. Believably played.
Lucas Jade Zumann plays the son of Annette Bening's character. So cute and lovable. And the way he is is very different from what I've seen in other films boys to be and that is something that I'm very keen on - to see uniqueness, something unordinary. And those brown eyes of his.. 
There is also Billy Crudup who plays a semi-meaningful role but I won't get into that because to me he didn't "shine" here.
What was also satisfying to see was the way and how well these characters blended. It didn't matter if it was a group scene or a dialogue, it all felt very interesting and natural. It had heart. 
I have nothing bad to say about the way it was shown - nice view angles at times, color choices for different "events", pretty landscapes. Very nice work. 
I have nothing bad to say how the story was told.
I have nothing really bad to say about 20th Century Women. It spoke to my heart and that is basically all I seek to get from a movie. 
If you are up for some down to earth different relationship drama which focuses on women - this should be a good choice! 
P.S. La La Land still gets the Oscar from me.

Rating: ★★★★½