STACK NZ Mar #60

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ENDGAME
Fresh from her second stint in the Hunger Games arena, Katniss Everdeen
is thrown headfirst into District 13, where she becomes the face of the
rebellion in Mockingjay – Part 1. By Alesha Kolbe
H aving destroyed the Capitol's arena,
Katniss is transported to the
supposedly nonexistent District 13,
where she discovers she is part of a much bigger
plan than to just stick it to the man. Plutarch
Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) –
previous head Gamemaker – appears to have
aligned with the "rebellion" all along, and has
teamed up with President Alma Coin (Julianne
Moore) in the hopes of igniting the Girl on Fire.
The penultimate film adaptation of Suzanne
Collins' wonderful YA novels diverges from the
gaming arena and into the dark heart of Panem.
Katniss must decide who she should trust and
who she shouldn't, as well as what it really
means to be the "Mockingjay" – the face
of the rebellion.
District 13's claustrophobic, subterranean
setting gives the film a real edge, and as you
watch you are brought unknowingly into the
story and forced to fight alongside the
rebels in their war.
Katniss herself becomes part of a series of
"propos" – propaganda videos – designed by
President Coin to instil fear into the Capitol, and
specifically, President Snow (Donald Sutherland).
Her own personal film crew follows her around
in an attempt to capture her spontaneous
reactions to the decimation of the land and the
wholesale slaughter of its people by the Capitol.
“She goes into the propos feeling like a
pawn, like the Mockingjay is just a symbol
she’s not connected to or passionate about,”
explains Jennifer Lawrence. “The whole idea
of the propos is to get people fired up, to band
together – so Katniss faking at being something
that she’s not doesn’t work. It’s only when she
sees the human cost in District 8 that a true
spark is ignited. The more she sees, the more it
becomes a personal fight for her.”
"If we burn, you burn with us" is Katniss's
empowered message to the president of
Panem, as she acknowledges the destruction
wrought by his army. When the Mockingjay
visits the Districts throughout the land, she is
an "emotional foreigner", damaged by both the
Games and by the loss of Peeta.
"This is the time when she realises she can’t
stand by and do nothing,” says director Francis
Lawrence. “There has been too much deception
and the people Katniss loves are in danger. She
will do whatever it takes to keep them safe.
“It’s incredibly complex to track somebody
who is going through so much emotionally,” he
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