#mockingjay pt.1

The movie opens with Katniss trying to calm herself down after yet another nightmare.

"Start with what you know is true," she tells herself out loud. "My name is Katniss Everdeen. I'm 17 years old. My home is District 12. I was in the Hunger Games. I escaped."

Those who've read the book will recognize the mantra - it's something Katniss uses as a way of re-grounding herself throughout Mockingjay, to remind herself of who she is, the bare facts of her own existence that allow her to keep going. 

This sets up much of the main premise and central theme of the film - war, and the physical and psychological consequences of it. It's not an easy movie to watch, nor is the book easy to read. It's filled with trauma and violence and emotion, and doesn't shy away from facing head-on the consequences of brutalization under a corrupt government who use fear and violence to maintain power.

The movie is incredibly well-directed. Like Catching Fire before it, Francis Lawrence does an excellent job of putting the big themes of the book onto the screen, and does them justice. Much of the film takes place in the dark, or in low lighting, which enhances the tension and the terror that not only the characters, but also the audience, feel. It actually reminded me of The Hunger Games in the way the scenes were coloured, and the slow-moving camera shots and shaky camera in parts harking back to the first film, to the shots of the Games themselves.

But these aren't Games any more; this is the real deal. 

Two outstanding performances come from Sam Claflin and Josh Hutcherson. Although both have minor roles, both do them incredible justice. Sam is brilliant at portraying the reality of Finnick's suffering, behind the mask of the Capitol's "Golden Boy". Two scenes in particular stand out - the scene in which Finnick, taking Katniss' place to deliver a rebel broadcast during the rescue of the Victors from the Capitol, reveals the truth about his sexual exploitation and prostitution at the hands of Capitol citizens; and the brief but emotional moment when he's reunited, finally, with Annie Cresta, the love of his life. Throwing herself into his arms, they embrace in a moment which is heartbreaking for those who've read the book and are very much aware of the fate that will befall Finnick, much too soon.

For Josh Hutcherson, the challenge is playing Peeta on two levels; as both collaborator and victim. In particular, he gives an incredible performance as post-hijack Peeta. As a consequence of Peeta's warning to District 13 of an imminent attack, his punishment is to be tortured and injected with mind-altering drugs, namely tracker-jacker venom, and re-conditioned to perceive Katniss as the enemy. Bruised and bloodied, he appears on Capitol TV tearful and afraid. When he's rescued from the Capitol, along with Annie and Johanna, the rebels - and Katniss - are unprepared for what they find. Demanding to see him, Katniss enters what functions as his hospital room, only for him to wake suddenly and put his hands around her throat.

Much of the movie is made up of jarring scenes of violence and brave resistance. A lumberjack whistles the four-note tune associated with the rebels; Peacekeepers open fire on the crowd of workers heading for the forest. Protesters attempting to blow up a dam are shot by Peacekeepers; however, a few brave citizens manage to get the explosives inside, before setting them off, destroying the dam and bringing down the power in the Capitol. In District 8, the surviving citizens have set up a makeshift hospital in an abandoned building, but there isn't enough space or resources to care for the wounded - or the dead. 

There are funny moments, however. When Katniss is proposing her conditions for becoming the Mockingjay to Plutarch and Coin, she first demands that Peeta, Johanna, and Annie are rescued from the Capitol, and that they are granted immunity from punishment for any collaboration with the government. Her third demand is more trivial; "Oh, and my sister gets to keep her cat." This scene, in fact, really brings out Katniss' bare awkwardness and discomfort; she has her demands written on a piece of paper, which she fumbles with awkwardly, smoothing out the creases on her trouser leg and constantly flicking her eyes to it, as if she might forget what she wanted to say.

She also smuggles Buttercup, the aforementioned cat, into District 13 by putting him in her bag, and jokes with Haymitch, whom Effie says she "liked better when you weren't sober". 

The film is jarring, uncomfortable, and highly emotional. The violence is disturbing. But that's the whole point. The movie doesn't ignore the hard facts of the book, nor its major themes. It's a story of resistance against an all-powerful, totalitarian government which is corrupt to the core. The fear is real. But so is the spirit of bravery.