Lions for Breakfast (1975) User Reviews

In search of something.

[BrettErikJohnson · 1/10 · 9 April 2004]

This is another aimless film from the '70s with a very thin plot. In short, a couple of brothers ride around in a bus with an older gentleman and his dog. The older brother is in search of the "blue". Evidently, that is a term which means a place of beauty and happiness. The older guy has a deed for a house which sits on a hundred acres and he wants to share it with the brothers. That sounds good to them so they stick with him on his journey to the land he owns.

The few events which occur on the bus trip are without interest. One scene was filmed at the African Safari & Game Park in Ontario. Talk about a waste! If you're going to film a scene with large, wild animals then at least make it worthwhile.

Nothing overly exciting happens in this whole film. There is very little humor and only one brief moment with any real emotion. The direction is poor and the lack of a good editor allowed things to drag on and on. The music was awful and completely overused to allow for a lot of time to pass without having to worry about dialogue.

I don't know what they were aiming for with this one. "Lions for Breakfast" is way too slow for kids and way too insubstantial for most adults. 1/10

Not too bad

[RoamingTigress · 7/10 · 7 April 2005]

I saw "Lions for Breakfast" quite a long time ago while staying up late at night in spite of my parents wanting me to to go to bed early for school. It was an alright movie, the plot line is nothing to write to home about and I found the characters rather forgettable with the possible exception of the old man and his German Shepherd. Having said that, there is something rather enjoyable about the sheer campy feeling this thirty year old low budget movie has.

Those living in Ontario, Canada or have visited the province may recognize some places were the movie was filmed. For instance, there is a scene that has been filmed at the famous African Lion Safari.

Charming tale about the meaning of home

[yrussell · 10/10 · 25 September 2020]

I love the eccentricity of this film. Filmed in Canada in the 1970s, it shows life in a bygone era - amongst people who are living on the fringes of society, on the verge of being homeless. What a lot of people did back then was to hit the open road, seeking a new life elsewhere on the continent - but with only a vague idea of the destination and what they will do when they get there. Some other reviewers complained that this film feels "aimless" but they are missing the point. This film perfectly captures the feeling on being on the road without knowing what the future holds. It is a slow-paced film, and all the better for it! Two orphan brothers (one adult, one child) run away, separately, from their accommodation in a nameless town (a town where there is no family, only a landlady who is indifferent to them, at best). By chance, the younger one meets an old man, self-described as "Count Ivan Stroganoff", who is a little bit crazy, and has himself been wandering the open road for decades. Yet, Count Ivan has a big and honourable heart, and is determined to find himself a home, a paradise to call his own. An inveterate gambler, he won the deed to some faraway rural property and is now driving his dilapidated school bus / motorhome, looking for that farm paradise which he calls the "Blue". In a chance occurrence, the older and younger brothers are reunited, and the three of them (two brothers + Count Ivan) set off to find the "Blue". There are a few unexpected adventures along the way, seeming to come at random - but I think this feeling of randomness is very life-like because often things in life happen unexpectedly. When they finally reach the Blue, the place turns out to be a complete wreck (broken down buildings amid overgrown grass and trees). Yet, Count Ivan is determined to tackle of the Herculean task of fixing it up. Sure, this film is dated, very much a product of its time (the cars, the clothes, the hairstyles, the dingy bars, the attitudes, and illegal gambling in the back rooms of every dive hotel in every town!), but the message at the end is universal and timeless: home is something we need to build. We find ourselves a physical place, and what makes it special are the people around you, and our devotion to constructing the shell that protects our loved ones. In the end, we need to create our own paradise.