TO eight years after the last chapter, the saga returns to the cinema (from tomorrow Wednesday 15 November). dystopian of Hunger Games. But looking back, since The Rime of the Nightingale and the Serpent – taken from the novel of the same name released in 2020 – it’s the prequel adventures with protagonists Katniss Everdeen (played by Jennifer Lawrence). A stand-alone that focuses on the youth of Coriolanus Snow, the very evil president of the fictional nation of Panem (Donald Sutherland).
The Hunger Games – The Ballad of the Nightingale and the Serpentthe plot
Set approximately sixty years earlier compared to the events of the original saga, The Rime of the Nightingale and the Serpent tells the story of young Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth), years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem. The eighteen-year-old boy is chosen as a mentor for the tenth Hunger Games and he hopes in this way to be able to raise the name of his house againfallen from grace in the post-war Capitol.
Coriolanus in fact represents the last hope for his entire family to shine again as it once did, regaining social prestige. The boy will have to be the mentor of the female tribute of District 12, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler). Despite her poor origins, the girl manages to charm almost all of Panem during the harvest ceremony by singing the very ballad mentioned in the film’s title.
Tom Blyth and Rachel Ziegler in a scene from “The Hunger Games – The Rime of the Nightingale and the Serpent”. (Notorious Pictures)
After this performance, Coriolanus realizes that he could use the situation to his advantage and working as a team with Lucy, combining their political cunning and their instinct for spectacle, they will try to survive in a race against time. At the end of which it will be decreed who will be the nightingale and who will be the serpent.
In the meantime, however, between the two boys an overwhelming attraction seems to arise. A feeling that the boy won’t know how to manage, torn between the desire for redemption and the lure of love.
The prequel to Suzanne Collins’ literary saga
Published since 2008 in three volumes, the famous saga of novels young adults written by Suzanne Collins it has conquered millions of kids all over the world. And even more so with the film adaptations that they introduced the world to Katniss Everdeenthe Panem dictatorship and the TV show Hunger Gamesor the fight for the life of 12 kids chosen by draw from the 12 districts into which Panem is divided.
Ballad of the Nightingale and the Serpent, the literary prequel, was published in 2020 and takes readers back 64 years, to the tenth Hunger Games (Katniss competed and won edition number 74). It introduces new characters along with eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow. Which later grows to become the fearsome and ruthless president of Panem and the antagonist of the original series.
The new heroine Lucy Gray Baird
Played by Rachel Ziegleralready star of West Side Story by Steven Spielberg and future Snow White in Disney’s live actionLucy is member of the Covey, a group of itinerant actors, specialized in music and songs, which come from somewhere between the British Isles and the Appalachian Mountains.
During the film, you will also discover that Lucy wrote The Hanging Treethe ballad made famous by Katniss in the previous films. So a possible kinship/connection between the two? Ziegler took care of clarifying this by explaining in the American presentation press conference what links Lucy to Katniss «There are similarities between the two characters but they are not necessarily connected. Lucy Gray is a war-torn teenager who has had everything she knew stripped from her, yet she still makes the best of it.”
Rachel Ziegler in a scene from “The Hunger Games – The Rime of the Nightingale and the Serpent”. (Notorious Pictures)
The actress then added «Lucy she’s very similar to Katniss from that perspective, but has a very different experience than being put in an arena in front of a group of spectators. Lucy is very persuasive in her performance and is very good at getting the audience on her side, so it was a lot of fun to play her. AND I think there are other elements of Katniss within her».
Director Francis Lawrencealready author of the last two films of the saga, added other details on the character of Lucy «Katniss was an introvert and a survivorone could almost say he was also asexual. Lucy on the other hand is the opposite: She shows her sexuality openly and is a true artist.” Adding even more curiosity about this new dystopian and singing heroine.
The new villain: Viola Davis
Since Coriolanus has not yet reached the pinnacle of evil as president of Panem, the main antagonist of the film is Dr. Volumnia Gaul, played by Viola Davis. Volumnia is a ruthless geneticist with different colored eyes and it is the original mind that created the ferocious Hunger Games. A role, it seems, that the actress obtained “thanks” to a meme created by fans which showcased his ability to be both cruel and playful.
Lady with a super eccentric lookthe film’s director Francis Lawrence told the American magazine People that inspiration for the costumes it was the film with Gene Wilder Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. A point of reference that costume designer Trish Summerville also mixed it with some references to the looks of the various Frankensteins of the history of cinema.
Viola Davis. (Notorious Pictures)
The other new entries in the cast
In addition to the terrible Doctor Gaul, the new characters in the saga include Peter Dinklage as Casca Highbottom. The headmaster of the Academy who trains the mentorsincluding Coriolanus, e Jason Schwartzman as Lucky Flickerman, the game show host which are broadcast here on the small screen for the first time. His surname suggests that he Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) from the previous films is Lucky’s son or perhaps nephew.
Another new face of the franchise is Isobel Jesper Jones as Mayfair Lipp, the daughter of the mayor of District 12. The actress semi-rookie she is a very promising young actor with an important role in the Netflix series behind him The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself.
Will there be a chapter two of the prequel?
On Collider, director Francis Lawrence denied the possibility of a second act. «It’s a film in itself. There is no possibility for a sequel, which is why the film’s duration is almost three hours.” Then add «As long as Suzanne Collins doesn’t write another book!».
Also asked about the differences between this film and the previous ones, Lawrence said that in the previous saga he wanted to address the consequences of the war in the lives of the boys While “The Rime of the Nightingale and the Serpent Talks about a world still almost uncontaminated».
As for instead the first press reviewsmany have underlined the excessive length of the film, adding however that this prequel will meet all fans’ expectations.
Can’t Catch Me Now by Olivia Rodrigo
The soundtrack song of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of the Nightingale and the Serpent And Can’t catch me now by Olivia Rodrigio.
It is a folk rock ballad with a video in which the singer of Filipino originsnew US pop darling nominated for 6 Grammys including album of the year for Guts, moves sinuous in a rural landscape. Alternating pain with images from the film.
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