The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013, Dir. Francis Lawrence)

Many people have trouble watching science fiction because the world is too alien, too distanced, and too cold. It’s out there and some people can’t connect to that. But the Hunger Games: Catching Fire doesn’t feel so far from home. The creators imagined a world on earth not too far in the future where only the most realistic of things have changed. Clothing styles for the rich are more decadent and eccentric (a la Brazil, Fellini, or Ken Russell style). But the poor stay poor while the rich get rich. The impoverished sectors are not lost in technologically superior or desolate lands. No, they exist in sectors of nature. We know what nature looks like now. In the future, trees have not changed color or shape. It is as it is and as earth most likely will be. Only, more people are suppressed and the time for revolution is ripe. The rich do survive on superior technology and their homes are more creative and elaborate. But the movie doesn’t dwell on the stylistic changes of the future. This makes the movie feel more real and more accessible. It’s focus is not the strange new world. It’s focus is the character.

This is another reason why some people cannot “get into” science fiction. At times the emphasis is on technology or ideas, not the characters. Even the best science fiction movies sometimes stray away from very human characters (Like 2001:A Space Odyssey, an indisputable masterpiece). But the Hunger Games takes a different (not unique, but different) approach to science fiction. The story is completely character driven. We are forced to feel the world with Katniss (played brilliantly by Jennifer Lawrence). Here is a woman forced into so many positions she never asked for. The world she lives in is relentless and cruel and she is forced every moment to make the difficult decisions to survive.

This sequel picks up logically from where The Hunger Games left off. Katniss and Peeta became national celebrities when they survived the games. In the first movie, one representative from each sector is chosen to partake in a fight to the death that has only one victor. The government uses these games to control society, keep people afraid and also entertained. It is accepted that it is better to kill in these games than to fight a war and lose many lives for the basic human rights that have been taken from the impoverished. Katniss and Peeta both escaped the games because of their love story. Katniss played the game well, entertained and fooled the world by lying about her love for Peeta in order they both survive. They were going to commit suicide together by consuming poisoned berries, but this was too emotional are heartwarming, not to mention profitable, for the government to let them die.

Catching Fire does not rely on the success of the first story or try to repeat the same thing to sell more tickets. It has the advantage of die hard fans of the books, so this movie is free to continue the story without falling to what many sequel in franchises do- repeat the same story with more explosions and fun stuff (just look at The Hangover sequels for example). In Catching Fire, Katniss and Peeta are expected to make a Victory Tour around the different sectors. Before the tour begins, Katniss is visited by President Snow who threatens that if she does not make him believe that she loves Peeta and that she does not pacify the growing lust of rebellion he will harm or kill all those she loves. And he can do it. Easily.

She cares for another man named Gale, who is not happy about her going. But over the course of the movie, Katniss must do many questionable things that she does not want to do in order to survive. I will not spoil many plot points, but revolution is ripe and though Katniss tries to be the government’s darling she has become a symbol of hope to the people, and there is nothing she can do to squash that image. She does not want the blood of a war on her hands. She gives a speech earlier on in the movie where she memorializes Rue, a young girl who died in the first games. Her speech inspires the people. One man raises his arm in a protesting symbol of the mocking jay. Others follow suit. Immediately that old man is taken and killed in front of Katniss’ eyes. There will be no resisting the government’s authority.

Katniss is flawed. She wants to run away. She wants to be absolved of all responsibility. She tries to get away. In another interesting and atypical move for a major Hollywood movie, she meets up with her love interest, Gale and asks him to run away with her. He asks if she loves him. She tells him, you know I care about you, but I can’t think about love right now. She can only think about survival. This is so honest. Here is a woman in a situation  where everyone she loves ends up hurt or dead. She might even have to kill him herself. It’s the nature of these games. Later she almost kills people she cares about to save people she cares about more. There are no easy answers here. And she does not want to be the person she has to be.

Every character in these games is forced to live in the constant threat of death with the burden of being forced to kill those they love. They movie never lets this be easy. It never forgives. If Katniss does something wrong, someone gets hurt. The movie does not sugar coat this. And the end is tragic. Brilliant and tragic.

For those of you interested in screenplay structure;The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is completely atypical. It has a run time of two hours and twenty minutes and the entire movie is a call to action. Katniss tries to run from action, tries to side with peace instead of war, but only in the very last shot, in the most extreme of circumstances, does she finally accept that call to action.

Typical screenplay format introduces all the main characters in the first ten to fifteen pages, the theme is stated, then there is a call to action, the character then debates whether or not to act, the story splits in two, a B story is introduced, the character acts but her highest highs are mirrored by her lowest lows, bad guys close in and all is lost, and just when things couldn’t get worse some new idea is introduced and things resolve in the finale. Catching Fire spends its entire movie debating the call to action, something that would normally have been accepted within the first thirty minutes of the movie. Very strange and very interesting. And the thing is, it works!

Go see this movie. It is better than I could have ever hoped. Sometimes Hollywood gets things very right, and this is one of those times.