da blues is da blues
Sita Sings the Blues
Two parallel stories of women who have their hearts broken, centuries and worlds apart - a broken heart, is a broken heart. And so Sita Sings the Blues.
Sita, the Indian heroine of this tale, is rejected by her husband Prince Rama after she is kidnapped by the evil king of Lanka. She then risks her life to try and find Rama, only to discover he doesn't trust her. When she tells him she is pregnant after they are reunited, he organises for her to be abandoned in the forest.
Nina, a San Franciscan artist living with her husband and their cat (based quite directly on Director Nina Paley's real life situation) is rejected by her boyfriend Dave after he moves to Trivandrum, India for a six month contract.
Directed, written, produced and animated by Nina Paley over the five years following the break up with her husband Sita Sings the Blues is a deeply personal tale. Considering the parallels between herself and Sita in this film, Paley says: "I'm just an ordinary human, who also can't make her marriage work. And the way that it fails is uncannily similar to the way Rama and Sita's [relationship fails] . Why? Why did Rama reject Sita? Why did my husband reject me? We don't know why, and we didn't know 3,000 years ago. I like that there's really no way to answer the question that you have to accept that this is something that happens to a lot of humans."
Although it may be part of Kid's Flicks this May, Sita Sings the Blues is a joy for adults as well, with different layers to be appreciated by parents, kids, or all of the above. 1920's jazz singer Annette Hanshaw adds to the film's texture and tone with her sweet sweet voice, with classics like 'Mean to Me' interspersed through the film.
Check out the wonderfully refreshing and original animation Sita Sings the Blues at ACMI. Click here for more details on session dates and times.
Published Thursday, 14 May 2009
|
|
|
