Nina
Paley has got to be one of my favourite animators. I've been
re-watching her brilliant mash-up of Hindu mythology and blues music
called Sita Sings the Blues, based on the ancient Hindu story of Rama and Sita.
It's an epic story but here's the crash course: he's a god, she's his queen; she gets kidnapped by a demon; he saves her but then tests their marriage by making her walk through fire to prove her innocence. (Not such a feminist, that Rama.)
It's an epic story but here's the crash course: he's a god, she's his queen; she gets kidnapped by a demon; he saves her but then tests their marriage by making her walk through fire to prove her innocence. (Not such a feminist, that Rama.)
While
travelling in India after her own marriage fell apart, Nina mixed
slices of her own life with those of Rama and Sita's to create a genius
modern take on an old story, with some moody blues music thrown in.
Paley's animation style changes wildly throughout the film, from scratchy basic line drawings of her life in New York to sumptuous, intricate sketches when she cuts to Rama and Sita, but somehow it all hangs together. These are a couple of the gorgeous snapshots, but though the images are lush, the film's even better.
Paley's animation style changes wildly throughout the film, from scratchy basic line drawings of her life in New York to sumptuous, intricate sketches when she cuts to Rama and Sita, but somehow it all hangs together. These are a couple of the gorgeous snapshots, but though the images are lush, the film's even better.
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| RAMA, HANUMAN (KIND OF LIKE HIS JEEVES), AND SITA |
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| LAKSHMI, THE WIFE OF VISHNU THE CREATOR. (ALSO THE NAME OF MY MAMA!) |
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