The final chapter, a prequel, of the Hunger Games saga is coming to cinemas. The Ballad of the Nightingale and the Snake has two charismatic performers who will not disappoint fans. Review by Daniela Catelli.
Eleven years after the release of the first film and eight after the last, with the Francis Lawrence had completed the story told in the first three books Suzanne CollinsThe adaptation of the prequel will soon be in cinemas: There was great anticipation and also obvious concern from fans regarding the release The Hunger Games: The Hoarfrost of the Nightingale and the Serpentwith which the same director brings this world back to the origins of the games to the big screen by adapting Collins’ 2020 novel, which focuses on the sentimental upbringing of the future president, the cruel Coriolanus Snow, who appears in the trilogy played great Donald Sutherland.
Presented in a world premiere with a fan screening at Lucca Comics & GamesPlayed before a packed audience holding white roses (a device) like the ones young Snow presented when he arrived at his tribute to Lucy Gray Baird, the film lived up to expectations and even offered a few surprises. Without too Jennifer Lawrencethe absolute protagonist of the film trilogy, the saga continues to provide cause for interest thanks to the performances of the two charismatic protagonists: Rachel Zegler She was much more convincing in the role of nightingale Lucy Gray Baird than in her appearance in West Side Story and there is no doubt about his singing skills, while we were impressed by the charisma Tom Blyth, able to penetrate the screen and perfectly remind us of his character as a young man without making him a sterile imitation. It’s not just a (vague) physical resemblance to Sutherland, but the work the actor does with his body and voice throughout the film (for those who watch it without dubbing).
This was probably the most difficult bet Francis Lawrence: If he had not guessed the two main interpreters, the story, which repeats and drags out in the novel, would soon have lost interest. This time the director is also taking the opposite approach compared to the last two films in the series he directed: Having adapted the last book in the trilogy into two films, here he specifically gets rid of all the long lines and subplots of the story for the essentials, which focuses primarily on the relationship between Snow, his friend Sejanus and Lucy Gray, accelerating (but not simplifying) the journey of transformation of the young and ambitious student into the most staunch supporter of the office’s social and economic inequalities. -War world of Panem and the maintenance of cruel games. The story follows in an interesting way involution about a young man who has a lot of potential, but is faced with the lure of power and success and the appropriate leadership from his superior, Dr. Gaul develops his negative traits and kills what he loves.
Naturally favored, with handsome looks and keen intelligence, Coriolanus is a born winner: even though the remnants of his noble family in the Capitol have fallen from grace and are literally starving, he stands out from the crowd. The students love and/or envy him, the naive outsider Sejanus trusts him, believes in his sincerity and is unaware of his inner torment, the games’ creator Casca Highbottom fears him for reasons we’ll find out later, and the evil doctor Volumnia Gaul holds him down. She has her eye on him because she understands that in him she has the perfect material to mold in order to maintain her belief in the games and in the inherent rudeness of people. When he gives birth to the young Covey from District 12, the courageous Lucy Gray Baird, at the Tenth Hunger Games, Coriolanus discovers the girl’s courage and pride and the complicity that arises between them seems to give rise to a great love that changes him could, but things get complicated when he decides to help her in the arena in an illicit way.
The film is divided into three parts and, like the novel, changes direction halfway through. The games are just a fragment of the whole: ruthless and obviously in a more primitive version, they are not the center of the story, because what interests the creator of the story and the director is precisely the figure of Coriolanus, who opens himself to evil. who will find fulfillment as a peacemaker in his experience in exile. As for the performances, the locations and the special effects (with perhaps an unconvincing excess of CGI in the scenes with the colorful snakes), The Hunger Games – The Ballad of the Nightingale and the Serpent effectively depicts an angry (hyper)realistic world with few bucolic pauses, where war and hatred continue to claim innocent victims (children), class divisions are extreme, and godlessness triumphs over empathy: a world very similar to the world we live in is saga is reflected all too accurately.
Evil corrupts, hate, like snow, snow, sits silently on the peaks, hiding from eyes what lies beneath, and love is not strong enough to defeat it, betrayal comes with command posts and, as soon as the threshold of human Decency is exceeded, repaid with feelings will be erased and the fear of death coupled with pain will breed more casualties and destruction in a vicious cycle that only a mass rebellion led by heroes can break. Maybe that’s why we like this series so much: beyond the now outdated similarities with Battle Royale, are films that address young adults with openness and even a touch of healthy pessimism, creating two female characters full of strength, but also weaknesses and ambiguity (especially in the latter case), with Katniss and Lucy Gray Baird. Because even as dictators divide the world into black and white, pitting one against the other and continuing to exploit divisions, heroes must also learn new survival and fighting strategies. Nothing is easy, everything must be conquered and defended, especially freedom.
Finally, the saga also offers a very targeted and current criticism of the entertainment society we know, in which the domestic audience has to get excited about the worst in order to increase ratings and social loyalty to a state founded on terror and revenge. The motto “Panem et Circenses” has never been portrayed as well as in this fantasy series: that’s no small feat for an entertainment product. Finally, an allusion to the excellent co-protagonists: Peter Dinklage paints the beautiful portrait of a torn man, the great actor that he is, Viola Davis She’s a great villain and Jason Schwartzman In the role of the magician/host of the games, he doesn’t miss a moment, giving his character the right oomph without turning him into a caricature. After all, we are still at the beginning before the show in the arena becomes colorful, exaggerated and modern with the eccentric looks and hairstyles we are familiar with. And what will happen now? Will it really be over? If that were the case, we’d say it wasn’t so bad after all.