There is no turning back now The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. The coin is in the air and the fate of Panem is about to be decided. After the abrupt end of On fire, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) wakes up confused in District 13. And now she must choose her position within the revolution: whether she wants it or not. On the one hand, there is her lonely spirit, which distances her from what everyone says: she only seeks tranquility. But on the other, there is her strong moral character, the example of her sister, the possibility of rescuing Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and the expectations of an entire nation before her. Will she accept to become the symbol of the revolution? Will she take on her role as the Mockingjay?
“I think determining Katniss’ motor this time was very difficult, since she is in a very confusing position. His motivations are not as simple and direct as in the other installments,” he assures PREMIERE Cinema Francis Lawrence, who returns as director to conclude the saga.
Added to this conflict is the complicated relationship of the “Girl on Fire” with Peeta and Gale (Liam Hemsworth), which for the moment takes a backseat. Yes, the feelings are there, but the Mockingjay has a much more important mission than deciding on either of the two. And, according to the filmmaker, that’s what makes her such a popular and identifiable modern revolutionary.
“She is a character that resonates with people because she is real, she behaves like a girl her age and not like a heroine. She is a very complicated woman with different very interesting nuances. She is very strong-willed and has many flaws. And that makes her credible, because it is natural that she does not want to have all the responsibility that is being assigned to her. We can all relate to the decisions she makes as they come from her instincts.
The third part of the saga based on the trilogy written by Suzanne Collins arrives under enormous expectations from the media and fans: the 65 million books sold and almost $2 billion raised by the films assure us that its popularity continues to rise. Those responsible for this phenomenon are very aware of it and that is why it was no surprise that, like all young adult recently, the last novel was divided into two parts.
Divisions
Creative or monetary decision? “I think it works well because in each film there are two very different stories,” argues the director. “Also, it is always difficult to make a good 400-page adaptation in two hours, a lot is lost. The division allows us to tell these very different plots in the best possible way… The difficult thing was choosing the point at which we were going to cut the first installment.”
But regardless of whether or not it was an opportunistic decision, the truth is that the franchise is a success, since it knew how to reach a diverse audience and not just teenagers looking for a new love triangle. But how did he achieve it?
“It has to do with the universe, the story and the characters that Suzanne Collins created,” Francis comments on the matter. “She had the idea of telling a story about the consequences of war and she built a world around that. She has many layers and fantastic protagonists that feel real. Panem is a mirror world to much of what is currently happening in ours: our media obsession, lack of attention to real problems and many other things that we can relate to.
The climax of the revolution in Panem brings with it faces and terrains to discover, starting with District 13—which was responsible for producing graphite and nuclear energy—a place that was believed to have been destroyed after the First Rebellion. In the last two installments it was claimed that it was uninhabitable due to radiation, caused by the destruction of the nuclear plants. However, at the end of On firewe discover that there is a society that lives by its own rules and that has also been preparing for decades to start a war against President Snow (Donald Sutherland) and the tyranny of his government.
“There was a great research process to obtain what we needed from this world,” says the director, referring to the design of this underground city where practicality and zero luxuries reign. “We asked ourselves: ‘What information does the book give us?’ We knew it was a civilization hidden beneath the earth, where there is a graphite mine and an abandoned nuclear structure. We combined those conclusions with extensive research we conducted of similar structures in the real world. Then we asked ourselves what it would be like to live there and what things you would need, what food people would eat and those details that would give it realism. “This is how we built a model of District 13.”
The film was filmed in Atlanta, where that scheme was brought to life. “We had some drawings and ideas from the first film,” says Philip Messina (Solaris), production designer. “But now we had to build everything from scratch and give it a unique personality.”
Rebels
But not only will we be able to see this mysterious place, but the production also traveled to Paris and Berlin to film sequences in which we will be able to see different districts, such as the 2nd and the 8th. We know that some of the most interesting action scenes will take place take place in these places and according to the director “there will be many more than in the book.” So much so that Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth followed a daily exercise and weapons training regimen during filming — which sometimes lasted up to 12 hours straight.
“I’m very excited to see Katniss’ trip to District 8 finished,” Lawrence reveals about the Mockingjay’s visit to the battle that occurs in that place to record a propo —These are short documentaries that the rebellion produces and seeks to broadcast in the Capitol to inform citizens about what is happening outside.
There are also the faces that will make the rebellion in Panem possible. Sure, we already know Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Haymitch (Woody Harrelson), but the face we’ll love to hate will be President Alma Coin, the strict, square leader of District 13—the villain’s equivalent of Harry Potter, Dolores Umbridge—. The one chosen to give life to the character is Julianne Moore (Map to the Stars).
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“She’s great, I would have given anything to be able to work with her,” says Lawrence. “She showed interest in this story and Coin. We met, talked about her character, what she would be like and we immediately understood each other. The truth is that she did a fantastic job, I think people are going to be happy with her when they see her on screen.”
It is also noted that the political part is one of the creative liberties that the studio took when adapting the book. As such, Moore’s role was expanded, as was that of Seymour Hoffman. We will also see more time with the debut actors in the saga: Natalie Dormer (game of Thrones), like Cressida, the mind behind the propos, and Mahershala Ali (House of Cards), like the warrior Boggs, who evolves in the first part to flourish in the second, according to the director. Another beneficiary of the restructuring is Effie (Elizabeth Banks), those who have read the book know that she is arrested, but here she takes the place of Fulvia, Heavensbee’s assistant. And not only that, but we will see her different from her in a sober District 13, which forces her to leave the glamor behind her.
So under all these new features, inclusions and above all expectations, it is clear to us that The Hunger Games It is established as one of the most important film franchises today. AND The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 finishes drawing a universe that is now in struggle, but that will soon find an end, for better or worse. Meanwhile, we are more than ready, like millions of followers around the world, to reach out, sing the song of the Mockingjay and join the rebellion led by Katniss Everdeen.
A version of this article was first published in the Special Edition of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 of Cinema PREMIERE in November 2014.
Cristina Vales Cristina Vales was editor of Cine PREMIERE for almost three years, however, her geek side has kept her close. Look for her if you want to talk about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, books and everything that has to do with entertainment.