reviewing the ballad of songbirds and snakes 🌹🎶🐦‍⬛

after nearly a decade, the hunger games have finally returned to the big screen with the ballad of songbirds and snakes. set 64 years before the time of katniss everdeen, the prequel follows the rise of president coriolanus snow and the events surrounding the 10th annual hunger games. what did you think of the ballad of songbirds and snakes?

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summary 1:50
review 7:40

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nicole w.b

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[leslievanhouten]

Reading Ballad…was like reading American Psyco, the internal monologue of a narcissistic murderer with a supremacy kink. I did like the movie, but wished Smow’s characterization was darker. Jason Schwartzman however, was pitch perfect.

[lanaloveschocolate]

I am honestly obsessed with viola davis red and white outfit. Like, her dress being blood red from the head on down, because she clearly only thinks and only knows violence; and wearing red gloves to show she will sully her hands. White shoes to cover red socks? Fantastic. Even the fact that the symbolism is so 'in your face' fits her so so well.

[mikadyo]

As someone who has never read the book, I had no issue understanding Snow’s dissent into heartlessness. He always has a note of opportunism in every action he takes from the beginning, such as the small smirk on his face after Lucy sings for the first time. He knows she can put on a good show and boost ratings. Later on when he says “you can trust me too” to Lucy, it seems so calculated and like neither of them actually believe they can trust the other fully. His hunger was apparent to me until the games began and I took his not eating when he had chances to, such as when he arrives at the school, as him trying to keep the image of wealth. Why would he need to eat, he has plenty of food at home. To me that showed he is willing to put up with pain in order to keep his image and his family’s image pristine. From the way you described the book, it seems like Snow’s paranoia and distrust is at a level 10 from the beginning. If this is true, I think the small bits of real trust and optimism he shows in the beginning makes his dissent more compelling and human. I also think he has the capacity for evil the whole time. When Lucy said “all people are born with a natural goodness, ” I thought that Snow serves as a foil to her and that belief. He is someone who has a natural evil/hatred inside of them that is very apparent when he kills the tribute and then continues to brutalize him.

[gabi]

They had no right making Snow this fine

[chileanyways]

For me, reading the book made this movie such a smoother experience to watch. I think that's why i loved it so much, because i fully knew the inner dialogue and just how bad coriolanus is within his conscience. Considering how difficult this book was to adapt, I don't really have any issues with the third act (I think it’s rushed in the book too) except that it honestly could have been darker. Also, there was a whole other hour they had to go back and cut. the directors cut is 3 hr 40 minutes, and that extra hour probably would've really helped it. I hope that version is released soon

[tracelisey]

I think the lack of HUNGER was the worsy thing for me. Excluding some scenes, there was no show of starvation. These tributes were dying of hunger at points. They went over a week without being fed properly and THEN they went in the games. Food was used as currency and leverage from mentors (to get tributes to do what they want ie: Arachne) but also from tributes (Marcus' refusal to eat Seajanus' food + the bartering in the arena). The contrast of this games where at times they were utterly weak from hunger and basically starved to death, to Katniss' games where she could basically gorge herself up until the games statted would have been really interesting to see. Like what is less morally repugnant? Starving them or feeding them like pigs to slaughter?

[catalinachaverri]

I found it funny that Arachne Crane made fun of Lucy Gray's dress calling her "a clown", when in the future the people from the Capitol look more like clowns themselves.

[skylor]

I think the movie did a pretty good job showing Snows descent into evil considering it would be pretty much impossible to show his internal dialogue like in the book. At the beginning Snow's initial motivation to help Lucy was the money he would receive. His family's wealth is dissipating and he cannot afford university. He immediately took interest in her though, when she sang a righteous song after she was declared district 12 tribute. He snuck her food and gave her advantages even after he was told there would be no reward for him.
When she saved him during the bombing, he began to love her. I believe it was the second he had to kill someone to defend himself in the arena, he became morally conflicted. He starts to spiral for the worse ethically, and long story short, it was in the Forrest fleeing North where Lucy caught him in a lie and she became suspicious, then the second he found the murder weapon she realized he was going to make the choice to destroy it and move back to the capital. Leaving her behind and clearing himself of any evidence, unless he happened see her as another loose end. She made this connection and immediately fled. Then the end is where we really see him lose all humanity and become the villain.

[diannaherrera]

The actor who played Snow was so fine I was getting concerned for myself throughout the movie...💀

[neivilde.]

i actually thought the capitol outfits were toned down enough to distinguish it from the future. like especially the make up, this felt like a natural this is how it would've been a few years after the rebellion, before it became excessive. and also we spent so much time on the more corporate side, at the academy and such, that there weren't many occasions to show the capitol. and i liked how we could see the skyline and how they were still rebuilding 10 years later, it wasn't done

[finalGambitShedinja]

the thing that stood out to me like a sore thumb is the homework snake tank scene. It only works if Clemencia has literally 12 brain cells and no fear response.

[ten-zepq]

Even without reading the book, I thought it was pretty clear that every action he took throughout the movie was ultimately self-serving and that he’s fundamentally a bad person.

[annemirthenies]

i feel like the costume i liked the most was def the academy uniform, i thought the androgynous and boxy kinda look was really fun

[sparxstreak]

4:23 This bit of ambiguity really bothered me 😕 in the book we find out Clemensia survived but suffered from skin mutation where her skin became colourful scales like the rainbow snakes before eventually recovering with some scarring. I know it was done probably to save time & create suspense but I just think her fate in the book added to just how sinister Dr Gaul was.

[SarahConLeche]

They also could have shown Snow getting his hair buzzed a few times between shots of grueling labor. To show the passing of time through how many hair cuts he needed

[paisleyq]

an ‘American Psycho’ style inner monologue here & there could hypothetically have really helped — if the actor could pull it off (& it looks like he did a good job considering the challenge of portraying all that without one !) it would have really added to the story

[twinklerose]

I have to disagree with your opinion on the tributes fashion. I thought it was absolutely brilliant the way they were all dressed as their clothing all have nods towards their districts industry and the wealth difference was clearly shown. I'll go over each of the fashion of the tributes just to name a few.
District 1: Wore completely white outfits that were matching and similar towards uniforms. Possibly a school uniform, they stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the shags of other tributes, the wealth difference was definitely there.
District 2: Wore more bland outfits as they aren't in the great wealth just yet they are in modern day. They're slowly rebuilding from the war and haven't been given the luxuries they have yet as the Capitol hasn't fully recovered to do so.
District 3: Wore green factory bodysuits which were matching and showed the work labor that even kids were forced into.
District 4: My favorite, they were sailor-esque outfits with ocean/aquatic related embroideries in their clothing. They looked nicer and even had vest and layers towards their outfits, a far difference to say District 8.
District 5: Wore more plain outfits but Sol, the district 5 female even wore a fancy outfit with a vest and button up, a show of more resources compared to 9-10.
District 6: We never really saw, but in behind the scenes they wore more hard materials like leather, a reference to the original trilogy and 60s-50s Jet-wear.
District 7: Treech wore more old style lumber fashion with reference towards the 1900s while Lamina wore more traditional Lumberjack fashion with the prints.
District 8: Great outfits as they looked the most worn-down but hand-made as their outfits were entirely made out of spare-supplies and scraps.
District 9: Wore more plain outfits but had touches of yellow and overalls that gave reference to the farm-life many of them lived.
District 10: Lot's of animal-related fabrics like leather and references to cowboy fashion with the many layers. As well as touching on the style in the area the District is placed - Texas and Mexico.
District 11: Outfits had prints in reference towards the industry and wore brighter colors to match.
District 12: The star, I loved Lucy's outfit as it looked very crafty.

[nataliefaithrivas]

* Spoilers*
I think something I really like though is that with Snow's character, you can see how Lucy Gray actually loved him; he was charming and seemed very genuine with his actions. I think the movie and the book are stronger together, because the former provides an image of what Snow comes off as to everyone else, and the latter is who he truly is. A good example of this is here: In the book, Snow wasn't good friends with Sejanus, and in fact thought that he was stupid, but he was always mistaken as his good friend, and they considered each other 'brothers'. The movie shows his outward mannerisms and how he actually acted, which provide a reasoning as to why people think they are friends. The movie shows how Snow acts without his inner thoughts getting in the way, while the book really captures the essence of who he is to himself, and the justifications he makes for his actions, trying to paint himself as a good person when he finally concludes that he isn't. I think the movie and the book should be analyzed together rather than separately, because it gives two perspectives on a very complex character; I think it would be a great disservice to an individual to only view one form of the story lol.
Also, I watched the movie before I read the book; it contextualizes the scenes (that are necessary, because otherwise the songs come off cringe lol). I feel like it helped to bring a more in depth viewing of an already complex character, so I recommend watching the movie before reading the book, something I don't usually recommend btw.

[joojishibuki]

I watched this with my boyfriend and the first thing he said when the movie ended was why were there so many characters with names that ended in ‘anus’? 😭😅

[gleewhoseline]

It's worth going just to hear Rachel sing. Especially The Ballad of Lucy Grey Baird