Sita Sings the Blues

Wow!  I just saw one of the most delightful animated films ever, Sita Sings the Blues, which is the handiwork of artist Nina Paley.  She uses creative two-dimensional animations, in a variety of styles, to tell the story of the Indian epic the Ramayana with the help of 1920s torch songs by Annette Hanshaw.  Yes, it is in English, so don’t worry about a language barrier.

Roger Ebert named it one of the best films of 2009, and I can only agree.  Read his initial review for some insight into the film, and then go to sitasingstheblues.com and download a free and legal copy of the film you can burn onto DVD, or just watch it online.

I know, the description makes this film sound weird and artsy.  I heard about it a few months back, when distribution was blocked due to our ridiculous copyright law.  And even after I found out it had been finally released for free viewing, I still took a few days to work up the nerve to sit down and try it out.  But, oh my goodness, I loved every minute of it.

I’ve put the YouTube link below so you can sample it, but you really need to go to sitasingstheblues.com and burn yourself a DVD so you can see it in comfort and with superb picture and sound quality.

[3/31/2010 UPDATE: Good news!  You can now rent Sita Sings the Blues from Netflix!]