My friend over at the Lawn Gnome has just posted a neat tag based on the Hunger Games with different movies/books for each of the 13 Districts. I’m actually not a big Hunger Games fan (yes I know you can all be shocked…) but you don’t really need to be to have fun with this tag. So, I thought I would bring it over to the blogging world and give you my picks for both movies and books.
First here is his video:
So here is the tag-
District 1 Luxury: Pick a (BOOK/MOVIE) with lots of opulence.
For movie I will pick Citizen Kane based on the life of William Randolph Hearst, one of the richest men in American history. It’s wildly regarded as the greatest movie ever made and literally every shot can be studied for its lighting, subject matter, cinematography and everything else.
District 2 Masonry/ weaponry: pick a (BOOK/MOVIE)with a great war or conflict.
There are a lot of good war movies but I’m going to go with a recent great movie, American Sniper. In Sniper I felt like I was down with the marines going house to house looking for people. It was a totally different kind of war than I have ever seen before and I was really moved by it.
District 3 Technology: Pick a(BOOK/MOVIE) with a technological twist.
A movie with a technological twist I will go with Gattaca. A science fiction film with tremendous heart and great performances about a society who has created genetically perfect people known as valids who are considered superior to traditionally conceived people who are invalids. Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law are great in it.
I love to swim so movies in and around water are some of my favorites. Since you all know I love Finding Nemo, Little Mermaid and Song of the Sea let me dive a little deeper (excuse the pun…) and pick something more obscure. I love the little British movie On a Clear Day about a man who decides he is stuck in his life and is going to swim the English Channel. As an open water swimmer I relate to his story but on a slightly smaller scale
District 5 Electricity: Pick a powerful (BOOK/MOVIE) .
The first film that came to my mind when I thought of powerful movies is Hoop Dreams. This is an amazing documentary by Steve James where he follows the lives of 2 inner city boys who dream of becoming professional basketball players. It is heart wrenching and it goes places fiction couldn’t go. It’s so profound about how our dreams are our inspiration and also our undoing at times. It’s about everything that makes up a life. It’s without question one of the best movies ever made.
District 6 Transportation: Pick a(BOOK/MOVIE) that takes place in many locations.
A movie that takes place in many locations I will go with the movie that has a map showing the characters zip around the globe- Raiders of the Lost Ark. Just in the first few minutes he goes from Boston, to Nepal, to Cairo.
District 7 Lumber: Pick a(BOOK/MOVIE) with manual labor.
This isn’t farming but if you consider cooking manual labor then I love Babette’s Feast. It’s a Danish film about a woman who is a refuge and is welcomed in by 2 women and their friends who abstain from luxuries and eat very bland food. She wins the lottery and gets a chance to cook the way she has dreamed of. It’s a beautiful movie about work and how when we find out what we are supposed to contribute to the world that is when we are really fulfilled even if it is just cooking one meal.
I could have picked Grapes of Wrath for my movie as well but thought I’d have a little variety. Nobody does a setting like John Steinbeck. You can feel the dust and sun pounding down on the Joads family. It is a book that is depressing in a way but it is also very unpredictable with a complicated notion of right and wrong and characters who wish they could work more than the land allows them too
District 8 Textiles: Pick a(BOOK/MOVIE) with amazing clothes!
The movie with amazing clothes I thought of is Anna Karenina with Oscar winning costumes by Jacqueline Durran. The entire visual style of this movie is so inventive and different. Joe Wright with his amazing cast and production values elevate it beyond the typical costume drama. A lot of that goes back to the amazing costumes.
Interestellar is a really good choice but since The Lawn Gnome chose that I am going to go with Cast Away. Tom Hanks is brilliant as the man who is shipwrecked on an island and must learn to survive. When he gets fire it is a triumphant moment and the depth of feeling we get for a volleyball is profound. The film is weakened when he returns back to civilization and becomes more trite but the hungry part is great.
Got to go with Babe, one of the best family movies ever made IMO. A sweet simple story with real heart and humor about the pig that wants to be a sheepdog.
District 11 Agriculture: Pick a(BOOK/MOVIE) where a character comes to a harsh gritty reality.
I will say Les Miserables. Fantine realizes the lowliness she will stoop in order to save her daughter. It is only a last gesture by a kind man that saves her story from being 100% tragic but it is a harsh gritty reality for sure.
For a book I will go with a play, A Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. It’s a gut wrenching story of a man who realizes his life is a failure, his son is mediocre and it is his fault. I normally don’t like downers but since it is a brief play and its characters are so vivid I have always been drawn to it. I love movies, books, plays about work and this is certainly one of the most sobering. I guess you could call it a cautionary tale.
Well there aren’t many dark and sinister movies I like as you all know. There’s a few ghost stories I like and some funny scary movies like Ghostbusters but all of those have a certain lightness about them. Maybe since I haven’t talked about it yet on the blog I will go with Strangers on a Train. It’s a Hitchcock about two men who decide to murder for the other person. It’s creepy and weird and one of his less well known films.
I forgot about District 13 which is appropriate because it’s The Forgotten District: Pick a(BOOK/MOVIE) that’s “under ground” that not many people know about.
I will go with a film I bet none of you have heard of it is Lili starring Leslie Caron and Mel Ferrar. It is a lovely story about a girl who can’t seem to relate to anyone except for some puppets but she forgets the man behind the puppets a brooding ex-dancer who lost his moment in the spotlight. It’s got stunning dance sequences, Caron is at her best, Oscar winning music and a surrealist art direction.
Because he does both book and movie reviews I am going to tag Richard at https://velociraptor256.wordpress.com/.
Another blogger with an eclectic blog I will tag is the POMAD https://pomadness.wordpress.com/
And finally my book club leader and fabulous book blogger who also occasionally blogs about movies Suey’s Books. http://sueysbooks.blogspot.com/
If you are tagged you can pick both or just do books or movies. Have fun!
And anyone else who wants to do it go for it!