Huhn mit Pflaumen (Chicken with Plums, Poulet aux prunes)
France/Germany/Belgium 2011

Opening 5 Jan 2012

Directed by: Marjane Satrapi
Writing credits: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi
Principal actors: Mathieu Amalric, Edouard Baer, Maria de Medeiros, Golshifteh Farahani, Eric Caravaca

Tehran in the 1950s, Nasser Ali Khan (Mathhieu Amalric) wants to die when his beloved violin is smashed in anger by his frustrated wife (Maria de Medeiros) and cannot be replaced. What is life without his music? He draws the curtains, lies down on his bed, musingly smokes his cigarette and awaits death. During the next eight days his mind travels back into the past, mourning his lost sweetheart (Golshifteh Farahani), skipping into an imaginative future of his children and even visioning a naked Sophia Loren. When the angel of death visits him, he gets scared and involves him in long arguments.

After her world-wide success of Persepolis (2007) the French-Iranian director and writer Marjane Satrapi is again teaming up with Vincent Parronnaud for an adaptation of her graphic novel Chicken with Plums. This tragicomic tale is inspired by her own childhood and her musician uncle but is more live-action than animated. It still has Satrapi’s distinctive, visual and bold flair. It is a pleasure to watch the international team of actors, including Isabella Rosselini and Chiara Mastroianni. Be prepared for a deliciously bitter-sweet romance, an unconventional mix of dreams and reality. (Birgit Schrumpf)