After much anticipation, “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” was brought to theaters on Nov. 17. The prequel to the popular “Hunger Games” series follows the antagonist Coriolanus Snow and his experiences with the 10th Annual Panem Hunger Games, 64 years before we meet heroine Katniss Everdeen. After rewatching all the original movies prior to seeing the new movie, I was prepared, excited, and pleasantly surprised.
The week before seeing “Ballad”, I was violently humbled in my English class. The prompt was to talk about foils in popular movies, to which my first thought was Katniss and Snow from the “Hunger Games” trilogy. When mentioning this to my tablemates, I quickly realized that I was very much in the minority of students who had read Suzanne Collins’ dystopian masterpiece in middle school.
The cinematography was incredible, and I thought it was comparable to “La La Land,” which won an Academy Award for cinematography in 2016.
As “Ballad” garners more and more attention, the thought that not many people my age had been Hunger Games fans in the mid-2010s seemed insane to me. The Hunger Games had been the catalyst for my love of dystopian fiction. Going to the library after school with my red canvas tote embellished with a sequined elephant was my second favorite part of my week, with the first being able to go home and read the three to six books I had previously acquired.
As I write this review, staring at the original trilogy that sits on my color-coded bookshelf, I am reminded of how much influence Collins had on my own writing career and love for reading. She inadvertently jump-started my excitement over young adult dystopian novels, which continued when I read “Divergent” in early middle school.
After seeing the movie, I was surprised when the excitement I felt in seat K7 mirrored the excitement of realizing Peeta and Katniss both would win the 74th Hunger games almost six years ago.
The movie was absolutely amazing. The cinematography was incredible, and I thought it was comparable to “La La Land,” which won an Academy Award for cinematography in 2016. I also loved the inclusion of singing, something that I might be in the minority about. Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler, had an incredible voice, which she used to sing live on set.
I’ve heard many people say that Lucy Gray singing was out of character, or random, but I believe that singing is an integral part of her personality and identity, considering she is descended from the Covey, or nomads, known for their performances and singing abilities.
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My favorite part of the movie would have to be the complexity of the character’s interests. I couldn’t quite tell if Lucy Gray was in love with Snow, or rather performing for the Capitol to try to survive the games. Snow wanted Lucy Gray to win because he would gain money, but there was also a feeling like he genuinely cared for Lucy, which was interesting to watch.
Although the movie was great, the last part felt rushed. With a run time of two hours and 38 minutes, there was so much to be crammed into the final act. Apparently the Hunger Games director, Francine Lawerence, had considered splitting the movie into two parts, similar to the last Hunger Games movie, “Mockingjay.” Views for “Ballad” are already at an all time high, with the movie grossing $200 million worldwide. However, run times can influence whether or not one goes to an actual movie theater, so splitting the movie into two parts might have gained viewership. Not to mention sitting in a movie theater for 2.5 hours plus previews is a long time to be staring at a movie-theater-sized screen.
My middle school self would be ecstatic about “Ballad,” and she would want another trilogy based off of young Coriolanus Snow, whereas currently, I believe that Suzanne Collins would be better off writing a book about a different character or not at all. Continuing to learn about Snow would not leave much to the imagination, something that’s a fundamental part of the “Hunger Games” novels. The ending of “Ballad” is notably vague, which is the best part of Collins’ writing, leaving it up to the what they want the end to be. Whether or not Collins decides to write another book or not, the memory and excitement I and other readers have felt was reignited with this new movie.