#10 - Chicken With Plums
Some of you may recall the 2007 animated film Persepolis, which was based on Marjane Satrapi's auto-biographical comic of the same name. Satrapi co-directed the film with Vincent Paronnaud; the severe black & white artfully transferred the comic to film and won much critical acclaim, including the jury prize at Cannes.
I personally enjoyed Persepolis, so when Satrapi & Paronnaud teamed up to make a second feature Chicken With Plums I was intrigued, especially because the new film is live action, not animated. The trailer revealed a heavy dose of magical realism, which is another weakness of mine.
Nasser Ali Khan is a great Iranian violinist in 1950s Tehran. During an argument his wife breaks the violin his teacher gave him. His attempts to find a suitable replacement fail, even after taking a road trip where he procures what is supposedly the Strad used by Mozart himself. Heartbroken by this turn of events, Nasser Ali resolves to die and takes to his bed to await death's arrival. Every day members of his family attempt to console him, but he ignores them and turns fond reminisces of days past. These memories slowly explain the how Nasser Ali came to these final days. We learn about his brother, the wife he has never loved, the children who do not appreciate him, and the woman he should have married. Finally, we learn the real reason that no violin will ever sound as beautiful the one that has been broken, as well as what truly kills Nasser Ali.
That's all fairly straight forward. The real pleasure in this movie is the flashbacks, all filled in the soft light of memories, and the dream sequences, with their oversized reality. It's vaguely reminiscent of some of the sequences in Amelie, if that helps. It doesn't quite work as well as that movie, probably because it doesn't have the effervescent happiness that permeated that film, but it's still an enjoyable film if you like that sort of thing. I do. I particularly liked the absurd excuses a young Nasser Ali uses to continue visiting a shop that his beloved's father owns.
The film is in French with subtitles. If you enjoyed Persepolis or Amelie (or if you like magical realism) it's probably worth a shot, although I don't feel that it is as good as either of those two films. Still, it's a solid sophomore effort from Satrapi and Paronnaud; I'll certain look for more movies from them.
How Much Fun I Had in the Theater, 2013
Rank. Order - Name. Date; Theater.
I personally enjoyed Persepolis, so when Satrapi & Paronnaud teamed up to make a second feature Chicken With Plums I was intrigued, especially because the new film is live action, not animated. The trailer revealed a heavy dose of magical realism, which is another weakness of mine.
Nasser Ali Khan is a great Iranian violinist in 1950s Tehran. During an argument his wife breaks the violin his teacher gave him. His attempts to find a suitable replacement fail, even after taking a road trip where he procures what is supposedly the Strad used by Mozart himself. Heartbroken by this turn of events, Nasser Ali resolves to die and takes to his bed to await death's arrival. Every day members of his family attempt to console him, but he ignores them and turns fond reminisces of days past. These memories slowly explain the how Nasser Ali came to these final days. We learn about his brother, the wife he has never loved, the children who do not appreciate him, and the woman he should have married. Finally, we learn the real reason that no violin will ever sound as beautiful the one that has been broken, as well as what truly kills Nasser Ali.
That's all fairly straight forward. The real pleasure in this movie is the flashbacks, all filled in the soft light of memories, and the dream sequences, with their oversized reality. It's vaguely reminiscent of some of the sequences in Amelie, if that helps. It doesn't quite work as well as that movie, probably because it doesn't have the effervescent happiness that permeated that film, but it's still an enjoyable film if you like that sort of thing. I do. I particularly liked the absurd excuses a young Nasser Ali uses to continue visiting a shop that his beloved's father owns.
The film is in French with subtitles. If you enjoyed Persepolis or Amelie (or if you like magical realism) it's probably worth a shot, although I don't feel that it is as good as either of those two films. Still, it's a solid sophomore effort from Satrapi and Paronnaud; I'll certain look for more movies from them.
How Much Fun I Had in the Theater, 2013
Rank. Order - Name. Date; Theater.
- #6 - Harvey. Sunday, January 27; Capitol Theater.
- #4 - True Romance. Sunday, January 20; Cleveland Cinematheque.
--- Above this Line, Awesomeness --- - #2 - Lincoln. Tuesday, January 8; Westlake Regal
- #5 - Django. Tuesday, January 22; Capitol Theater (Cleveland Cinematheque production)
- #8 - The Mercenary. Friday, February 8; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #10 - Chicken With Plums. Sunday, February 10; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #1 - The Well-Digger's Daughter. Sunday, January 6; Cleveland Cinematheque.
--- Below This Line, I Was Bored --- - #9 - Lady in the Lake. Saturday, February 9; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #7 - Only Yesterday. Sunday, January 27; Cleveland Cinematheque.
- #3 - 8 1/2. Sunday, January 13; Cleveland Cinematheque.