Welcome part to Sita Sings the Blues review Part 2! In part one, I also forgot to mention that I noticed that the movie took certain liberties with the story of the Ramayana, which kept it interesting, but one of the more controversial changes (in my mind) was leaving out Lakshmana in Rama's exile into the forest. In Narayan's Ramayana, Lakshmana was there to protect Sita when Rama went to catch the golden deer, but in the movie Sita was left by herself.
In addition to the Lakshmana removal, I also found it odd that the battle between Rama and Ravana was very oversimplified and frankly unsatisfying in this movie. In Narayan's Ramayana, Ravana and Rama battle furiously with different weapons on the ground and in the air on chariots, with tons of trickery and magic throughout the whole fight. In the movie, Rama shoots one arrow that flies straight into Ravana's chest, killing him instantly. This was after all the build up of Ravana as this powerful evil king who was Rama's wife's kidnapper, his arch-nemesis. And his death seemed way too easy for Rama.
Anyway, story changes aside, I loved loved all the songs in here. Honestly! "Who's that Knocking" was such a bop that I am thinking of just listening to that song anyway!
Trigger Warning, Dave being an absolute d*ck: Sita Sings the Blues
Ok, another thing that I liked (and yet also hated in this movie) was the "real-life" portions of the film about Nina and Dave's relationship. First of all, Dave is a complete asshole. It is a testament to this film's storytelling ability that I disliked Dave so much, that I became so sad when he broke up with Nina over email while she was away in New York. It was interesting to learn that this story arc of the movie was based on real-life events between Nina, the creator of the film, and her boyfriend. The movie has a whole then seemed to be a very cathartic exercise for Nina, and I was happy to get a good film out of it! Overall this movie is a fun, fresh, and exciting adaption of the Ramayana (with only a few questionable choices), and I would recommend this to anyone wanting to learn more about the Ramayana, or just wanting a good story in general.
Vaga-Buon Voyage.
Nina Paley. "Sita Sings the Blues." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzTg7YXuy34&feature=emb_logo
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