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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