| [filmlover-l] Movie this wednesday at
6:30pm: Sita Sings the Blues |
Saturday, November 13, 2010
4:07:06 PM |
| From: |
tbco@mtu.edu |
| To: |
filmlover-l@mtu.edu |
Hello everyone,
Since the past few movies have been a little too heavy
for some, we want to show a lighter (quite amusing and
funny) movie this week.
This wednesday, we are showing an American animated movie "Sita Sings
the Blues", directed by Nina Paley.
(more details below).
Please feel free to pass the message around and
invite your friends. The more the merrier.
I think it is PG. If one easily takes offense when their
favorite cultural icon is misrepresented, a little
sense of humor is needed. Otherwise, I think it is quite
hilarious...Monty Python would be proud.
Hope you can join us.
Regards,
Tom Co
===================================================
Title: Sita Sings the Blues
Date and Time: November 17, wednesday 6:30-9pm
Place: 308 Cooper Ave, Hancock
Director: Nina Paley
Partial List of Voice Actors:
Annette Hanshaw
Aseem Chhabra
Bhavana Nagulapally
Manish Acharya
Reena Shah
Sanjiv Jhaveri
US Rating: Unrated ( I think it is PG)
Language: English
Length: 82 mins
Media: DVD, color
Summary: ( by pulkitanand via www.imdb.com )
"The movie is about Sita, the Hindu Goddess
from the epic "The Ramayana", who accompanies
Lord Rama on a 14 year exile in forest. Sita
is abducted by Ravana, the ruler of Lanka.
This movie tells the story of Rama and Sita,
along with a biographical account of the
director's relationship with her husband."
My Comments:
A really funny, spunky, feminist, irreverent
take on the Ramayana story...focusing on how
Sita gets bad deals too often. Obviously, the
movie should not be taken seriously nor as an
accurate telling of the Ramayana, but it does
have a little (... okay a lot of) bitterness
on how Sita was poorly treated.
There are several animation styles. One where
Paley recounts her own experiences in San
Francisco, etc., Another style comes out when the
story is being recounted by three very funny narrators.
Another style comes out with Sita, resembling
Betty Boop, sings the jazz/blues/torch songs of
Annette Hanshaw's 1920s recordings. Yet another
style is used occasionally when some modern Indian music
comes on.
There are a lot of Annette Hanshaw music in
the movie. I thought it was bordering
on being too much, but the animation keeps it
interesting and the songs fit well with
Sita's particular episodes. Very well directed
and edited. The narrators were real gems.
I don't usually want to quote Roger Ebert,
but in his web entry dated April 29, 2009,
he said "...The laughs Paley gets here with
2-D would be the envy of an animator in 3-D.
She discovers dimensions where none exist.
This is one of the year's best films."
Maybe he is exaggerating a bit... but I do
think it is a good and entertaining movie,
one that I highly recommended.
The director says (in an interview contained
in the DVD) that the movie can be streamed
free from the web, but that she had intended
it to be shown in a big screen except she was
stopped by some odd copyright expenses. So hope
you can join us for the intended experience
of the large screen showing.
