Sita Sings The Blues is one of the hidden gems in World Cinema. A satirical take on the Ramayana,

which the director, Nina Paley connects with her own story is a beautiful experience and wonderful trip.

We use the word ‘trip’ because many viewers advise to see the movie after ‘getting high’ and we can see why that’s a suggestion.

The visuals are smooth and hypnotic, and the background score is unique & memorable. The storyline is as per the Ramayana and the director fits in Annette Hanshaw’s blues so seamlessly as if they were written to convey the triumphs & trials of Sita.

Moreover a mention to the director, the american artist, Nina Paley who’s made this seemingly bold movie under a creative commons license and not as a commercial release as a part of the Free Culture movement.

If not speaking from an Indian cultural perspective the movie is more innocent than bold and it’s beautiful in all of its complexity.

The director gives a good perspective of how mythology can be perceived differently around the world. This movie is carefully crafted and exceptionally detailed and does not bode disrespect to any community.

An extremely fresh graphical approach that puts you in a trance the seamless transition from traditional Indian visuals to modern elliptical design with abrupt parallel storyline in squigglevision.

With the involvement of religious dieties and concepts, the contents of this movie may hurt sentiments of certain people. RevHuman’s advice would be to watch this movie with an open mind to understand an outsider’s perspective of the Ramayana and the life of Sita.

For someone who has consumed pop culture iterations of the Ramayana in India, this acts like a ‘recommended viewing’ as it will make you look at the the mythological piece in a whole new light.

If you wish to see this movie it’s freely available on YouTube. Do watch and share your reviews in the comments!