Sita Sings the Blues

Name: Sita Sings the Blues
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, Animation, Musical
Released: December 25, 2009
Duration: 82 min
Rating: 93

2009

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 11 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 52 Ratings

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7.2

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7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 52 Ratings

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Sita Sings The Blues

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Movie Details & Credits

GKIDS | Release Date: December 25, 2009 | Not Rated

Summary: Sita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana. Set to the 1920's jazz vocals of AnnetteSita is a goddess separated from her beloved Lord and husband Rama. Nina is an animator whose husband moves to India, then dumps her by email. Three hilarious shadow puppets narrate both ancient tragedy and modern comedy in this beautifully animated interpretation of the Indian epic Ramayana. Set to the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw, Sita Sings the Blues earns its tagline as "the Greatest Break-Up Story Ever Told." … Expand

Director: Nina Paley

Genre(s): Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, Animation, Musical

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 82 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Boxoffice Magazine Ray Greene

With Sita, Paley brings the same, highly specific and very personal vision we associate with the best indie and alternative filmmaking to the animated form, and the result is riveting. Read full review

100

Roger Ebert

It is astonishingly original. Read full review

100

J.R. Jones

Captivating, mesmerizing, spellbinding. Read full review

Michelle Orange

Paley's beguiling, consistently inventive visuals and sly yet melancholy tone are about as warm and winning as heartbreak-fueled empowerment gets. Read full review

Ronnie Scheib

Paley sustains a consistently funny, sometimes even self-deprecatory comic tone. Read full review

Michael Phillips

Nina Paley's delicious Sita Sings the Blues finds solace in autobiography and an animated gold mine in the caverns of an ancient Sanskrit epic. Read full review

Frank Scheck

Arriving amidst a tidal wave of overblown and frequently charmless big studio efforts, Sita Sings the Blues is a welcome reminder that when it comes to animation bigger isn't necessarily better. Read full review

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User Reviews

joomjim4

Jun 18, 2012

One of the most original contemporary animated films. It is something I've never seen before in a film, full of humorous jokes, witching cinemographies as well as spell binding historical lessons through such an epic love tale. The best contemporary animated film without a doubt.

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

paultoes

Aug 23, 2010

an absolutely original joy. i smiled all the way through the thing.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MarcusM.

Jan 25, 2010

This gem of an animated film was released online (legally) about a year ago. It's nothing less of one of the most charming and most beautiful animated films of all time. If you have ANY interest in this tiny movie, do yourself a favor and check it out. I promise you that you won't This gem of an animated film was released online (legally) about a year ago. It's nothing less of one of the most charming and most beautiful animated films of all time. If you have ANY interest in this tiny movie, do yourself a favor and check it out. I promise you that you won't regret it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful

wadisplace

Mar 14, 2013

I found out about this movie while watching a Roger Ebert review. Ebert gave it a BIG Thumbs up, and could not praise the movie enough. He Loved it!!! He also said it was a free showing on the Internet. I went online and typed in,"Sita Sings the Blues". It is one of the BEST Movies II found out about this movie while watching a Roger Ebert review. Ebert gave it a BIG Thumbs up, and could not praise the movie enough. He Loved it!!! He also said it was a free showing on the Internet. I went online and typed in,"Sita Sings the Blues". It is one of the BEST Movies I have seen in years. It is Amazing. It is the kind of movie you can see over and over again, and not get tired of it. It is free online, and a MUST SEE.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Sylvio_Screen

Oct 7, 2013

Sita Sings the Blues is a 2009 artistic retelling of the Ramayana. It satirically tells the story of Rama on his journey to save his wife Sita from the nearly invulnerable king of Lanka, Ravana. But this isn’t a normal movie, it is cut up into four different artistic styles that blendSita Sings the Blues is a 2009 artistic retelling of the Ramayana. It satirically tells the story of Rama on his journey to save his wife Sita from the nearly invulnerable king of Lanka, Ravana. But this isn’t a normal movie, it is cut up into four different artistic styles that blend together to convey the artist and directors own experiences, views, and perspective on the ancient Indian epic.
The first of these styles is done with three narrators. Each portrayed by an ornate Indian shadow puppet, one female and two males. They talk with each other and tell the story of the Ramayana but not in perfect detail. They misinterpret things and forget facts and do come across as almost everyday people who grew up with this story quite similar to if my friends and I tried to tell the story of the bible (us all being nonreligious). Through this the story is conveyed in an interesting, and surprisingly humorous way. With all of the narrators joking around and mispronouncing some of the characters names it keeps the flow of the movie going without pouring out to much information in an uninteresting and drab manner whilst still informing the audience.
The second and probably least used style is the actual story of the Ramayana. It comes in short snippets portrayed in authentic Indian artwork which makes it much choppier in animation, but still quite visually pleasing. Lots of satire and humor is used these segments which is sometimes corny and overdone but I did catch myself snickering and sometimes laughing at the silly jokes.
My favorite parts of this movie are done in Pixar like, crisp animation. These parts are beautiful in both visuals and sound. During these segments Sita sings, as the title suggests, 1920s style blues from an artist named Annette Hanshaw. Each of these songs are sung relating to the story, for instance when Rama’s army is storming the gates of Lanka to rescue Sita from the dreaded king Ravana she sings a song about her love knocking at the door. This is an incredibly interesting artistic choice which I feel was done amazingly. The childish movie animation and aesthetics mixed with the 20s music and graphic scenes of the Ramayana creates an experience unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. These parts are interesting and really help you connect with Sita as a character, but still keep her remotely alien. I would watch this movie again solely for these parts and I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t have one of the songs stuck in my head and I am not planning to buy the music.
The final and probably most important parts of the movie are centered on the fourth style. In these segments it uses cartoon strip esque art. It tells of the artist and writer of this movie, Nina Paley, in a relationship with a man named Dave who is also an artist. He gets a job in India and moves there without her. After little communication he invites Nina to India to live with him and she accepts. A short time later she goes on a business trip to New York and Dave dumps her over Email. She is devastated and buys a small cold apartment and tries to get Dave back. The movie ends with one of these scenes where she walks into a new and clean suite with pictures of the shadow puppets on the wall, a fancy computer, and shows her going to sleep after reading a segment of the Ramayana.
The reason the comic parts are so important to the story is because the entire movie is from the perspective and interpretation of this women who was gravely hurt romantically. The 20s blues and most of the story being based around Sita’s experiences instead of Rama’s is evident of this. The entire movie is geared around Nina and Sita and their misfortune with their unsuccessful romantic endeavors. Throughout the movie I found myself sympathizing with both of them and wanting to help. The movie near the end really stressed the idea of the women’s dharma of being a wife as petty.
Overall Sita Sings the Blues was an incredibly interesting movie. Its different art styles and themed segments made for a unique experience I will have to share with other people somewhere down the road. The blend of Indian history, personal experience, relationship issues, artistic variations, and 20s musical numbers made for a story telling experience unlike anything I’ve seen before. I would suggest any person who is interested in unique storytelling and Indian culture to watch this movie, but an average audience would probably not find interest in this movie.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

bradley

Sep 23, 2010

Sita Sings the Blues is a delight to watch if only for the animation; it's done in several different styles that make it more visually compelling. It's a bit short on story and I didn't personally enjoy the soundtrack that caused so much drama, even if it is integral to the storyline. ISita Sings the Blues is a delight to watch if only for the animation; it's done in several different styles that make it more visually compelling. It's a bit short on story and I didn't personally enjoy the soundtrack that caused so much drama, even if it is integral to the storyline. I enjoyed the back-story of how this film was made more than the storyline itself, but, again, the visuals and the fact that it's freely distributed make this a must-see, if only to support a woman who poured her heart and soul into this project.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

TimD

Jan 28, 2010

I'll be the first to admit I didn't get this movie. If I had to guess, I would probably say the blues aspect simply turned me off. However, it's still an incredible work, and considering that you can legally watch it online, I honestly can think of no reason why you would not I'll be the first to admit I didn't get this movie. If I had to guess, I would probably say the blues aspect simply turned me off. However, it's still an incredible work, and considering that you can legally watch it online, I honestly can think of no reason why you would not go check this out immediately.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful

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