If you haven't had the chance to catch Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues you can check it out on her website for free. Paley has been a strong advocate of free distribution. On her site she offers it in 3 resolutions, two of which are "broadcast" quality. Her use of 2 dimensional computer graphics is nothing short of splendid. Bright, vivid and humorous Sita dazzles.
Sita is a Hindu goddess, the leading lady of India’s epic the Ramayana and a dutiful wife who follows her husband Rama on a 14 year exile to a forest, only to be kidnapped by an evil king from Sri Lanka. Despite remaining faithful to her husband, Sita is put through many tests. Nina (the filmmaker Nina Paley herself) is an artist who finds parallels in Sita’s life when her husband – in India on a work project - decides to break up their marriage and dump her via email. Three hilarious Indonesian shadow puppets with Indian accents – linking the popularity of the Ramayana from India all the way to the Far East - narrate both the ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the epic.
In her first feature length film, Paley juxtaposes multiple narrative and visual styles to create a highly entertaining yet moving vision of the Ramayana. Musical numbers choreographed to the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw feature a cast of hundreds: flying monkeys, evil monsters, gods, goddesses, warriors, sages, and winged eyeballs. A tale of truth, justice and a woman’s cry for equal treatment. Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as "The Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told."
Watch it here.
Good news! Sita Sings the Blues is now available on DVD! Get it from Amazon or Netflix on July 28!
[New York, NY – July 20, 2009] – This July, FilmKaravan, in partnership with Vista India Digital Media, proudly presents its first DVD release — the beautifully animated and wittily narrated debut feature film from Nina Paley, SITA SINGS THE BLUES — through Amazon, Netflix and a vast network of South Asian wholesale stores nationwide. Brimming with charm, humor and a soundtrack comprised entirely of haunting vocals from 1920s jazz legend, Annette Hanshaw, whose old jazz and blues recordings give voice to Sita, this adult-friendly cartoon offers a personal and thoroughly modern adaptation of the great Indian epic, The Ramayana.
For more information, visit http://www.filmkaravan.com