Plot: The Good Lie begins with a group of children in Sudan living a happy, carefree life until rebel forces massacre their village. The surviving children are forced to flee and do their best to stick together as they attempt to walk to Kenya. On their journey, they encounter other refugees and walk hundreds of miles in search of a refugee camp. During their journey, Theo, the eldest son and chief, sacrifices himself to rebel soldiers by stating he is alone while his brothers and sister hide in the tall grass. The tattered group eventually ends up in Kakuma, a refugee camp in Kenya, where they are reunited with several children whom they had previously known before the attack. Ultimately, four of the siblings - Mamere, Jeremiah, Paul, and their sister Abital - are chosen to go to the United States. The three young men end up in Kansas City while Abital is separated from her family and placed with a host family in Boston. The movie depicts the young men's struggles acclimating to their new life, such as adjusting to a vastly different culture, exposure to drugs, and worrying about dangerous animals. Carrie Davis, an employment agency counselor, assists them with job placement, helps them search for their sister, and ends up being their closest friend and supporter. Each of them is hired at jobs that are fairly suited to their skills. Mamere wants to study to be a doctor, Jeremiah is extremely religious and ultimately works with a church, and Paul likes to build and works in a factory. Carrie tracks down their sister and adopts Abital into her home so the three boys can be with their sister. Abital receives a letter from Theo informing her that he is at the refugee camp in Kenya. Mamere travels to confirm Theo's identity and attempts to secure paperwork so he can travel back to the United States. Mamere is unsuccessful at obtaining papers for Theo, so he gives Theo his identity to travel to the US while Mamere stays behind to work at the refugee camp as a doctor.
Alternative Plot: After their village is destroyed and their parents killed by Northern militia, Sudanese orphans Theo, his siblings and other survivors make a difficult journey to a refugee camp in Kenya. Thirteen years later, the group gets the chance to settle in the U.S. They are met in Kansas by Carrie Davis (Reese Witherspoon), who has been charged with finding them jobs. However, seeing how adrift they are in 20th-century America, Carrie endeavors to help them in rebuilding their shattered lives.
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