Day 367 Film Review: Catching Fire

After reading Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy, I was so excited about watching the films. Unfortunately, one of the pre-film adverts (I can’t remember which one it was) made me cry, which set me off for the rest of the film. I swear, every time there was a remotely sad bit (e.g. Cinna being beaten up, Peeta giving Katniss the pearl, the old guy being shot in District 11… basically every 2 minutes), I was blubbing like there was no tomorrow.

There were some details that made me irritated though, like how Katniss immediately knew what a spile was, and what it’s for. I also think they shouldn’t have changed the bit where Peeta’s painting of Rue is covered up. Finnick’s district, District 4, sent so much bread in the book, yet in the film they survived off seafood, or whatever it was. And the biggest change I hated was the ending. It would have been more dramatic if it had ended on Gale telling Katniss, “There is no District 12”. Having said that though, Jennifer Lawrence’s facial expressions as she lay on the table were rather impressive, and even I got scared by the angry look in her eyes.

When I wasn’t busy crying or being irritated, I was laughing. Johanna’s stripping off in the elevator was made even funnier by Katniss’ clear disgust, with her head turned away. And Finnick… where do I even begin? His whispering to Katniss about sugar cubes and secrets made me squirm as I read the book, let alone watch Sam Claflin do his stuff onscreen.

I can’t wait for the two parts of the last book, Mockingjay, and have basically marked  Friday 21 November 2014 and Friday 20 November 2015 as ‘BUSY’ in my diary.

Day 296 Maria Full of Grace

Most of the films I watch tend to have a lot of action in them, ranging from loud teenage parties to one-on-one fist/sword/gun fights. Maria Full of Grace was different, and I was surprised that I really enjoyed it. It’s one of very few European films I’ve watched with subtitles (the only other one I can recall watching is Le Dîner de Cons, which was hilarious). This 2004 Spanish film was serious, which normally turns me off, but the subject intrigued me: drugs mules.

When the news story about the two cocaine mules arrested in Peru broke, I’m pretty sure most of us were thinking, “Why would you agree to carry drugs?”. Maria Full of Grace gave a possible answer: being deceived and taken in by a ‘lovely’ guy who really only wants you to agree to become a mule. Also, the money offered to Maria, the main character, was tempting, since she had just lost her job as a rose de-thorner. The film offered a clear picture as to why people agree to become mules, and provides a view from the drug mule’s perspective.

It’s frighteningly sombre at times, but didn’t make me want to cry. I did feel some sympathy for Maria, as things inevitably don’t go to plan. What I really loved about this film was its ordinariness. It didn’t need any special effects, and it allowed me to see another side of the drug mule story.