I have to say, that I had second thoughts before going to the cinema on The Hunger Games. I'm not a fan of action films full of blood, killing, racing cars and things like that. Also science-fiction is not my favourite king of cinema. I love classical Sci-Fi, but recently, after Avatar I've been kind of discouraged to that sort of films. When I first saw The Hunger Games trailer I thought: "Great, an other stupid film for teenagers or less requiring audience (like Twilight saga) or great idea with horrible realization". After that first impression, I stopped thinking about that film. After some time and because of many reasons, I've decided to watch it and I was truly surprised. It is a really good film.First of all I need to write about script. Most of you know that this film is based on Suzanne Collins novel The Hunger Games. The story is located in future, in totalitarian country Panem. Society is divided into districts, where people live as slaves in poverty, and Capitol – place where citizens are free. The differences between standard of life are extreme visible. At the city everyone is wearing colourful clothes, huge wigs, shining make-up. I really enjoyed this exaggerate look of future fashion. In lots of Sci-Fi films creepy clothes were kind of trashy. I have to admit, that in The Hunger Games the Capitol citizens outfits are created with taste and great ideas, but what is more important – they look really credible. The history of fashion shows, that everything is possible in that area. Just take a look of XVII–XVIII century trends. All that wigs, corsets and staff like that became an inspiration for Judianna Makovsky, who created really original and eccentric costumes. The city is very clean and full of beautiful skyscrapers, everyone there looks like the happiest person in the world whose only activity is laughing all the time.
Citizens of districts are living in poverty, hunger and continuous oversight. Their houses are wooden small huts. Most of them have to work really hard as a miners, farm workers, weavers. Life at the district goes about gaining food and surviving. People there don't have perspective for comfortable life, wealth or free choice. After riot and fights Capitol has initiated obligatory Hunger Games – the reality show, for which, once a year, every district will give two "tributes" (one girl and one boy between 12 and 18 years old) who are required to fight to the death in an arena until there is one remaining victor. There are 24 players and only one stays alive.
In a very first moment of that film we see a world upside down, where children are taking care of parents. Main character, Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), is the head of the family, because her mother is depressed after her partner's death. During yearly lottery, Primrose Everdeen, younger sister, is randomly selected as a female tribute. Katniss momentary volunteers to take her place. Male tribute become Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson). The chosen ones are putting into train which takes them to the Capitol, where they will be preparing for the game.
In that moment I need to mention Effie Trinke, excellently played by Elizabeth Banks. This character is the one who is drawing lots during The Lottery. She dresses like people in Capitol, believes that fighting in Hunger Games is a kind of award and behaves like someone who have just taken some drugs. She's a part of District's 12 team, which includes Katniss, Peeta, former victor Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson) whose role is to train tributes, Cinna (Lenny Kravit) – stylist and PR specialist, and many other people, who work for succeed of District 12. Why there are so many specialist?
It's a reality show, so it needs to be attractive. Tributes of all districts are taking part in talk show to introduce themselves to the audience. Those, who will have most of fans, get bigger chance to survive. Audience can help player by sending medicines or food. The host of this show is Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci). Scenes where tributes are talking with Caesar are perfectly made – players look like people, who have their own will, and prepare to some sport competition, not life or death game. It all looks live very conventional, well-directed show, and makes an impression that maybe they won't die.
Whole Game is located in huge interactive arena that looks like forest. The Show director Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley) can put completely everything
in that space. Lot of specialists using computers create effects, which are sent to the arena and can kill tributes.
The Hunger Games are not a fair-play competition. Everything depends on viewers expectations. When Peeta is talking with Caesar Flickerman, it turns out that he will have to fight with someone who he loves – Katniss. We cannot know for sure, if that it's true, it can be a manipulation and for District's 12 team it's the best way to promote their tributes.
From the scenes of trainings audience can notice, that every player is good at something. Some of them are much more strong, determined and focused on developing killing skills, than others. During game they are a ruthless killers who actually enjoy this fight. This is an opposite attitude to what Katniss and few other tributes represent. When those "bad guys" forms a group, Peeta is one of the members. They want to kill the rest, but the main reason, that the leader – Cato (Alexander Ludwig) – is keeping him alive, is that he has to lead them to Katniss. She knows about this betrayal, but forgives Peeta and take care of him, when he's unable to fight. Director of the show decides to use this special relationship and creates a love story. Viewers supports this version of Romeo and Juliet, but President Snow (Donald Sutherland) who noticed earlier that Katniss is really brave and not humble at all, sees at her a danger. He thinks, that her person can inspire people form district to fight. And that is the last thing that he would like to experience...
Whole film is full of moral conflicts, that makes Katniss life difficult not only during the game. She needs to stay alive for her sister, mother and friend – Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) – who, probably is someone more that just friend. At the same time she establish a relationship with Peeta, which can be a fake one, but not necessary – she feels something to him too.
Very interesting thing is how screenwriters solve the problem of Katniss fight. She is created as a person, who wants to survive, but doesn't want to kill others. Most time of this game she is running away and hiding. When she has an opportunity to kill some opponents, she doesn't take that chance. She even become friends with a younger girl – Rue (Amandla Stenberg) – who helps her survive during sickness caused by bites of genetically modified bees. They form a team and try to destroy "bad guy's" food. I'm really disappointed, because screenwriters choose this moment to kill Rue. It is a very comfortable solution, because they don't have to put Katniss in a position, where she needs to choose between Peeta's, Rue's and her own life. I think that they wanted us to believe, that human is good by nature, but in my opinion, the better way was to leave Katniss with this choice and let her decide.
Many critics say that in this film we cannot see the great actors creations. I don't agree with that opinion. Jennifer Lawrence was the perfect match to perform Katniss Evergreen. She is very authentic as this character and makes this District's 12 female tribute emanate with her (Katniss) incredible strength of spirit. Also Stanley Tucci and Elizabeth Banks did a really great job. Tucci's Caesar is the perfect vain and insincere TV star, who listens to tributes, acts like he cares, but truly is indifferent to all that he hears. Banks' Effie Trinket is very vain too, but also very noisy and annoying. The issue with her is that she is naive and dumb or she choose not to care (I'm not sure about that, what actually is a point for Banks, because she has made Effie Trinket more complicated and interesting).
For me this story is really well created. I think, that this post-apocalyptic world of slaves, totalitarianism and very familiar naivety, is actually a very good, but sad simulation of USA's (but not only) future. I really enjoyed this Gary's Ross interpretation of Suzanne Collins novel and I'm also very charmed by this easy created vision, and happy, that it has more in common with George Orwell's works than Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. I think, that this is a really well done Sci-Fi film with philosophical and psychological elements, and I'm glad, that it brings up a social issues, human condition and this, in my opinion, wrong direction of civilization development.
The Hunger Games are not a fair-play competition. Everything depends on viewers expectations. When Peeta is talking with Caesar Flickerman, it turns out that he will have to fight with someone who he loves – Katniss. We cannot know for sure, if that it's true, it can be a manipulation and for District's 12 team it's the best way to promote their tributes.
From the scenes of trainings audience can notice, that every player is good at something. Some of them are much more strong, determined and focused on developing killing skills, than others. During game they are a ruthless killers who actually enjoy this fight. This is an opposite attitude to what Katniss and few other tributes represent. When those "bad guys" forms a group, Peeta is one of the members. They want to kill the rest, but the main reason, that the leader – Cato (Alexander Ludwig) – is keeping him alive, is that he has to lead them to Katniss. She knows about this betrayal, but forgives Peeta and take care of him, when he's unable to fight. Director of the show decides to use this special relationship and creates a love story. Viewers supports this version of Romeo and Juliet, but President Snow (Donald Sutherland) who noticed earlier that Katniss is really brave and not humble at all, sees at her a danger. He thinks, that her person can inspire people form district to fight. And that is the last thing that he would like to experience...
Whole film is full of moral conflicts, that makes Katniss life difficult not only during the game. She needs to stay alive for her sister, mother and friend – Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth) – who, probably is someone more that just friend. At the same time she establish a relationship with Peeta, which can be a fake one, but not necessary – she feels something to him too.
Very interesting thing is how screenwriters solve the problem of Katniss fight. She is created as a person, who wants to survive, but doesn't want to kill others. Most time of this game she is running away and hiding. When she has an opportunity to kill some opponents, she doesn't take that chance. She even become friends with a younger girl – Rue (Amandla Stenberg) – who helps her survive during sickness caused by bites of genetically modified bees. They form a team and try to destroy "bad guy's" food. I'm really disappointed, because screenwriters choose this moment to kill Rue. It is a very comfortable solution, because they don't have to put Katniss in a position, where she needs to choose between Peeta's, Rue's and her own life. I think that they wanted us to believe, that human is good by nature, but in my opinion, the better way was to leave Katniss with this choice and let her decide.
Many critics say that in this film we cannot see the great actors creations. I don't agree with that opinion. Jennifer Lawrence was the perfect match to perform Katniss Evergreen. She is very authentic as this character and makes this District's 12 female tribute emanate with her (Katniss) incredible strength of spirit. Also Stanley Tucci and Elizabeth Banks did a really great job. Tucci's Caesar is the perfect vain and insincere TV star, who listens to tributes, acts like he cares, but truly is indifferent to all that he hears. Banks' Effie Trinket is very vain too, but also very noisy and annoying. The issue with her is that she is naive and dumb or she choose not to care (I'm not sure about that, what actually is a point for Banks, because she has made Effie Trinket more complicated and interesting).
For me this story is really well created. I think, that this post-apocalyptic world of slaves, totalitarianism and very familiar naivety, is actually a very good, but sad simulation of USA's (but not only) future. I really enjoyed this Gary's Ross interpretation of Suzanne Collins novel and I'm also very charmed by this easy created vision, and happy, that it has more in common with George Orwell's works than Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. I think, that this is a really well done Sci-Fi film with philosophical and psychological elements, and I'm glad, that it brings up a social issues, human condition and this, in my opinion, wrong direction of civilization development.
S.
