I received a DVD in my mail. It's an animated film called Song of the Blues, an epic legend from the Indian Ramayana with a 1920s jazz song by Annette Hanshaw. I've carefully categorized this movie alongside several others. I'll wait until the eight days after these movies are released, and I plan to watch them. At this point, I was told that I had to see it now.
I started watching. First of all, I was fascinated. Then fall in love with the movie. The movie is a delight to behold from start to finish. And, incredibly, the film is conceived with a new and unique idea. It combines 4 completely independent elements to form a unique ensemble. What did Paley's head come to mind?
She started with the story of the Ramayana. This story is familiar to every Indian school-age child, but I don't know anything about it. This story tells the story of a brave and noble woman, but because of the arbitrary husband and mother-in-law's obedience, she suffered hardships and misfortunes. However, in depicting the story, Paley used bright colors and unrestrained painting techniques. The synopsis of the story is that Prince Ramayana treated his wife Siddhartha unjustly, even though she was deeply in love and loyal to him. In addition, the story includes the Hanuman Monkey Army, the lustful Ten Rakshasas King, the birds in unison, the choir of the old people standing in a row, and a tap dancing moon.
The story twists and turns, just like people think of indian epic stories. Even the Indians themselves can't get the synopsis very clear. In addition to letting the characters dialogue, Pelley adds a joyful narrative dimension: three modern Indians with narration who constantly add many questions to the story in order to get the story to the ground. Does Siddhartha wear jewelry? How long was she imprisoned and deported? How did the monkey who came to the rescue get into the picture? The narrations are as comical as the Saturday Night Live skit, with an Indian accent that gives it an exotic twist: "What a challenge to figure out these stories!" ”
The heroine of the story, Siddo, is somewhat reminiscent of the immortal cartoon character Betty Doll. Siddhartha's voice, though, was sexier. Paley synced Siddhartha's fate, Siddhartha's singing and dancing styles, and songs recorded by American jazz singer Anette Hanshaw (1901-1985). In the 1920s and 1930s, Han Shaw was a big star, what people saw as a "personality girl." Siddhartha lived around 1000 BC. This time sparked a lively conversation around her between the three Indians. When her husband angrily accused her of adultery and kicked her to the heap, Annette Hunter sang her hit song "Mean to Me", and our feelings for Siddhartha became clear.
In contrast, there is a parallel story. In San Francisco, we see an American couple, young, in love with each other, named Dave and Nina, respectively. They also have a cat named Lexie. They are in love like glue. Suddenly, Dave sets off for India to take over a "temporary" job, and Nina expects him to return early, so she flies to India as well, only to receive her coldly. When she returned to the United States, she received a heart-wrenching text message: "Don't come back." Love you. Dave. Nina collapsed. Lexie collapsed. Cockroaches wreak havoc in her apartment, but she ignores it. One day, at the height of sadness, she picked up the story of Ramayana and began to read it. Inspiration gradually warmed the ashes of her heart that had cooled.
Her story has many surprising correspondences with Siddhartha. Both of them were abandoned by the man they loved, were blocked by the journey, and both experienced rebirth after death (Siddo was really dead, while Nina was heart dead) - Siddhartha transformed into a lotus flower, and Nina became an angry little woman, moved to Brooklyn, and stayed in front of the computer at home for five years to create this movie. yes. She revealed in her autobiography that her then-husband "aborted" their marriage after he went to India. No ex-husband since Michael Huffington has been able to inspire greater cultural achievements.
One of the highlights of A Song of the Blues is the variety of animation styles. Imagine Siddo's sexy southern hemisphere moving posture. Whether the song she sang was happy or sexy, the voice was as muffled as a pendulum of seduction. And the birds that act in unison. They returned with a surprising news and another amazing news. Think again of the gray-bearded old men lined up. Also, remember how Hanuman set the palace on fire with a dragged tail?
The scenes set in San Francisco and Brooklyn, respectively, are animated in very different styles, albeit stick figures with a personal touch. I don't know if you noticed it or not, Paley sketched a vivid cat with just a few strokes. Paley works according to strict 2D creative principles, so the characters stay in their own flat world and constantly overlap with the planes of others. That sounds like a limitation. In fact, this has become a source of much joy. The essence of comedy is to establish some unbreakable rules first, and then find ways to break them. In this film, the laughter that Paley gets from his 2D drawings will make the 3D animators jealous. She has created a unique kingdom in a blank world. It was one of the best films of the year.