(Writer's Note: This film was screened at the Ottawa International Animation Festival)
Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues is a stunning movie, a heartbreakingly funny account of "the greatest break-up story ever told." Animated over a period of 5 years on Paley's laptop Sita, much like Ari Folman's Waltz With Bashir, is a brilliant repudiation of the notion that one needs big bucks in order to make a great animated film.
It juxtaposes the account of a crumbling marriage against events in The Ramayana, an ancient Indian epic. Mixing 1920's jazz with animation influenced by both India and Indonesia, it tells an absorbing story of "ancient tragedy and modern comedy."
Sita Sings the Blues: Modern Heartbreak Versus Ancient Tragedy
There are three major story components to Sita Sings the Blues. The first features a modern woman (named Nina, hint, hint) who slowly realizes that her marriage is crumbling after her husband gets a job in India. However, what could have become an unbearable pity party is leavened by Paley's trenchant wit, aimed as much at as it is at her former husband.
Paralleling the modern heart-break tale is a feminized retelling of The Ramayana, featuring Sita's disintegrating relationship with her husband Prince Rama.
Their marriage is initially idyllic, despite the fact that a spiteful step-mother convinced the king to banish his eldest son to the forest. However, the demon king Ravana, enflamed by tales of Sita's beauty, kidnaps her, taking her to his island kingdom of Lanka and demanding she become his wife on pain of death. Sita refuses him, believing that her husband will rescue her.
Prince Rama, aided by the monkey god Hanuman and his simian army, eventually invades Lanka and rescues Sita, killing Ravana in the process. However, Rama refuses to believe that Sita remained faithful to him during her captivity, and forces her to undergo a trial by fire. Sita throws herself onto the flames, only to be rescued by the gods who proclaim her fidelity.
Accompanying Rama back to his father's court, Sita soon becomes pregnant. But Rama still doesn't quite believe that his wife was unfaithful, and banishes her to the forest. Despite this, Sita raises her twin sons to love and praise their absent father.
Many years later, Rama finds his sons singing his praises and offers to take them back to the palace. However, he still doesn't believe that Sita wasn't faithful to him during her captivity, and demands yet another test of her fidelity. Fed up with her husband's rejection, Sita prays for the earth to swallow her up and end her torment, which is promptly answered.
At various points, a Betty Boop-gone-Bollywood version of Sita lip-synchs selected tracks by 1920's jazz singer Annette Hanshaw, while brilliant background animation illustrates how the song fits into the story. The two elements of jazz and ancient India are like chocolate and peanut butter under Paley's assured direction, driving the film forward.
The third component features three witty shadow puppets recounting and deconstructing the events of the Ramayana while static cartoons illustrate the points that they're making.
The Final Analysis
The phrase "family-oriented" implies entertainment that, while trying to be everything to everyone, ends up appealing to no one. Sita Sings the Blues is the happy exception. At turns thoughtful, funny and heartbreaking, this is a movie that truly everyone can enjoy.
With Sita Sings the Blues, Paley has crafted a wonderful tale of heartbreak with brilliant musical backing. It receives a 9/10.
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