“The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is the newest edition of the Hunger Games series. This movie is an engaging and mesmerizing story that dives into what happened before the era of Katniss Everdeen. It explores how Coriolanus Snow, nicknamed Coryo, developed into the tyrannical President Snow during Katniss’s time.
The movie is a prequel story incorporating the intricate details of the original books. The viewers are drawn into the story, starting with the capital’s gloomy environment after the war between the rich capital people and the poorer districts. Overall, the movie, directed by Francis Lawrence, is entertaining, keeping your attention for all three acts.
Act one opens with views of the wealthy capital and scenes of the preparation for the annual Hunger Games, but this time with a new addition – mentors. Cornelius Snow, played by actor Tom Blyth, is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler. Stressful time passes for the preparation of the games, with the mentors scrambling to give the contestants advice on how to survive. Snow may or may not break the rules to help Lucy. Then, the actual Hunger Games come into the picture, and the audience is left to follow their developing relationship as Lucy fights to live.
Elements in the movie that caught my attention were the camerawork and sound quality. Sitting in the movie theater, I felt like I was genuinely in the world, next to the characters. The sound effects echoed in the theater, and I was completely immersed in the setting thanks to the camera and sound quality. Not only that, but the actors did a wonderful job playing their roles. Every line of dialogue was smoothly integrated and emotional.
As I was sitting in my movie seat, I also felt empathy and emotions for these characters. Getting to know President Snow’s backstory added even more meaning to his character in the original movies now. It was interesting to know his origin and what led to his character.
This brings me to my next point: the surprising connection between this movie and the original trilogy. For instance, Lucky Flickerman, the game’s host featured in the 2023 Hunger Games, is related to Caesar Flickerman in the original “Hunger Games” series. The Flickermans add a comedic spark to the dark moments of this sad movie, giving the spectators a moment of laughter.
Another connection was when Lucy Gray was by the river having a moment with Corolanius Snow. During this scene, she picks up a plant and talks about how it got its name. The people like to call that plant the Swamp Potato, but Lucy likes to call it Katniss. This is clearly a connection to Katniss Everdeen, the main character from the original movies.
The classic song “The Hanging Tree” was also featured in the original movies, when Katniss sings it to unite the people against the capital. In this new movie, Lucy Gray sings the same song, and the viewers find out that it is originally from their band, The Coveys.
Finally, the importance of Mockingjays gets played into the scene. When Corolanius travels to District 12, he learns about these mutant birds and grows to hate them as it echoes Lucy Gray’s voice after she leaves him. Then, in the original movies, these mockingjays return to haunt Snow as Katniss becomes the mockingjay, the face of the rebellion.
“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” was a great addition to this already great series. This movie gave us a backstory that helped the viewer understand Snow’s character. Not only that, but it was an amazing movie overall that kept me focused for the three hours. As I sat in that movie theater, I was completely immersed and focused. When the final act ended with Snow walking into the capital with his new personality, I gasped in shock, curious about what would happen next.
This is a movie that should definitely be on everyone’s watchlist, for it is a movie everyone would enjoy!
