Review of the spectacle “The Ballad of Birds and Snakes”: This film is truly bitter and dark
Darui Sven
November 16, 2023 2:10 am
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3 min read
This Friday, the long-awaited prequel to the “Hunger Games” series, “The Ballad of Birds and Snakes,” directed by the author of the last three films in the series, Francis Lawrence, will debut in cinemas. The plot tells the story of young Coriolanus Snow, who becomes a mentor to a tribute from District 12 during the 10th Hunger Games. In this way, we learn about his path to the position known to viewers from “The Hunger Games.” The main role is played by British actor Tom Blyth, with Rachel Zegler as his partner.
Will the film meet the expectations of “The Hunger Games” fans? Or perhaps it surpasses them, giving us something we didn’t expect at all? Read our review.
Snow in the Ruins Author: Marcin Pietrzyk
This is not fun—warns Francis Lawrence, the director of “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Birds and Snakes,” in the first scenes of the film. On the screen, we see a snow-covered panorama of the ruined city. Two children are walking through it—desperate, hungry, terrified. They are lucky: they find food remains in the garbage. Others will pay for their survival with their own humanity when frozen human bodies become a source of food for them…
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“Twilight” and the original “The Hunger Games” created a new genre in Hollywood—YA (young adult). Since then, many productions have been created on the foundations they built. However, most of them are not worth mentioning. YA quickly became a synonym for trash and infantilism in cinema. That’s why “The Ballad of Birds and Snakes” makes such a strong declaration at the very beginning. Lawrence brings YA back to cinema, reminding us that this trend has a beautiful and rich tradition, and that there is also room here to raise really serious existential issues (in America, “The Sorcerer of the Archipelago” by Ursula K. Le Guin is considered YA literature!).
However, it does not end with the declaration. Francis Lawrence has written a three-act story about the price we pay for survival. Our main teacher of this bitter lesson will be young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), heir to the legend of the Capitol. His father died during the war, and without him, the Snow family’s stature diminished. Coriolanus tries to get it back. In front of his peers, he maintains the appearance of a proud patrician, although in reality, he cannot even afford food. He fights for the best possible grades to win a prize and the associated funds that may be the last resort for him, his cousin, and grandmother. When the rules of the game are changed, he will continue to fight—for the survival of Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from District Twelve.
The entire review of “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Birds and Snakes” can be found on its card
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