“The Hunger Games” was the beginning of a remarkable franchise that would dominate box offices and fan bases. “Hunger games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” is the newest addition to this illustrious series.

This film serves as a prequel following a young President Snow, played by Tom Blyth, and his rise to power, along with Lucy Gray Baird, played by Rachel Zegler, a radical performer turned fighter. Essentially, there was civil unrest within the districts of Panem (their universe), so in response to this, the people of District One created a game where they choose a boy and girl from each District to fight to the death. Author Suzanne Collins wrote the prequel in 2020, and they filmed the movie directly after.

In “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” Coriolanus Snow and his cousin Tigris Snow, played by Hunter Schafer, come from a wealthy family, but with the death of Coriolanus’ father, the family struggles to maintain their status. So to preserve their social stature, Coriolanus is determined to do anything to carry on the family name.

During the film, the aspects that elevated the viewer experience were the cinematography, costume design and score.

Firstly, the cinematography is strategic and increases suspense by using shaking camera techniques.

The cinematography hones in on this dismal dystopian setting while using wide angles that highlight the set design, specifically lots of circular space making the set feel never ending. The production team used inspiration from the Soviet Union and Italy’s Moussilini.

Along with the set, when the characters are competing in the games, the camera is invasive and swinging, increasing the stakes and evoking anxiety with the viewers. When the camera is set in the Panem, the camera is stable and organized which solidifies the superiority of the capitol members. As the plot unfolds, and the characters become more unstable, the camera copies the emotions of the characters.

Zegler, who plays Lucy Gray, was tasked with singing multiple songs.

Zegler is known to have a beautiful voice and her performance in this film was captivating. As she mimicked an Appalachian– like genre she performed live on set which made the songs compellingly passionate and extremely powerful. The music also maintained ideas of 30s and 40s nostalgia while also holding true to Lucy Gray’s character.

Lastly, Blyth, Schafer and Zegler’s costumes provided significance to the plot, and little Easter eggs alluded to the original series.Costume designer Trish Summerville worked on the original films and came back to continue her work. When designing the costumes, Summerville wanted to stay true to the eccentric glamor that the franchise is known for while also making purposeful clothing choices that allude to the time period. So Summerville mainly focused on eras that emulated 40s and 50s style.

Specifically with Lucy Gray, Summerville was tasked with making a durable costume that would last her majority of the movie while still relating to the character. On Lucy Gray’s corset she has embroidered mockingjays and primrose flowers which indicates relation to the original franchise, specifically Katniss and Primrose. They also add metaphorical purpose as viewers know that Katniss and Primrose will both be “picked” at the reaping and start the rebellion.

Other characters like Tigris had costumes that were more light and structured. Tigris is an upcoming fashion designer that we know will become a designer for the games and essentially set the stage for capital fashion. Which will be full of colors and abstract silhouettes, but with Tigris specifically she is commonly seen in soft colors that insinuate tones of hope and innocence much like the character herself.

Lastly, Corlolinus Snow, who is going through a transformative time in his life growing from boy to man, is first seen in his red school uniform. Summerville said the coloring was imperative as she wanted to emphasize that the youth was the “blood flow” of the capitol, in other words, they are what’s maintaining this society. Summerville also wanted Snow to stand out against the dismal environment he is in, also maintaining looks that we see in the original franchise such as the white rose.

Overall, this movie did not disappoint. The surrounding hype of this film was well deserved as it met every expectation of mine. As a “Hunger Games” fanatic, I enjoyed all the Easter eggs that alluded to the original franchise connecting the two seamlessly.