Poulet aux prunes (2011)

Since his beloved violin was broken, Nasser Ali Khan, one of the most renowned musicians of his day, has lost all taste for life. Finding no instrument worthy of replacing it, he decides to confine himself to bed to await death.

Directors:

Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi

Writers:

Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud

Stars:

Mathieu Amalric, Edouard Baer, Maria de Medeiros

3 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mathieu Amalric	...	Nasser-Ali Khan
Edouard Baer	...	Azraël
Maria de Medeiros	...	Faringuisse
Golshifteh Farahani	...	Irâne
Éric Caravaca	...	Abdi
Chiara Mastroianni	...	Lili, adulte
Mathis Bour	...	Cyrus
Enna Balland	...	Lili
Didier Flamand	...	Le maître de musique
Serge Avedikian	...	Le père d'Irâne
Rona Hartner	...	Soudabeh
Jamel Debbouze	...	Houshang / Le mendiant
Isabella Rossellini	...	Parvine
Frédéric Saurel	...	Mirza (as Fred Saurel)
Christian Friedel	...	Cyrus, 22 ans

Storyline

Nasser-Ali, a talented musician, loses the will to live after his wife breaks his beloved violin during an argument. He searches for a replacement, and finding none that sounds quite the same, he vows to die. Eight days later, he does. This is the story of his last week of life, where we see flashbacks and flash forwards of his previous life and his children's futures. We also see appearances of a nude Sophia Loren as well as the angel of death, Azarel. As we see his life, we realize exactly why he chose to end it and the profundity of this choice.

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Plot Keywords:

title co written by female | title co directed by female | musician | violin | angel of death | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some drug content, violent images, sensuality and smoking

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan] Official site [United States]

Country:

France Germany Belgium

Language:

French English

Release Date:

26 October 2011 (France)

Also Known As:

Chicken with Plums

Filming Locations:

Studio Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

€12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,301, 19 August 2012, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$253,705, 9 December 2012

Company Credits

Production Co:

Celluloid Dreams, The Manipulators, uFilm

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Yeki boud, yeki naboud. There was someone, there was no one. That is how Persian tales begin. Yeki boud, yeki naboud.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Venice Film Festival 2011 (2011)

User Reviews

A Work of Art

Having enjoyed Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, both as a graphic novel and a film, the lack of any buzz for her new film (also adopted from one of her graphic novels) had lowered my expectations for Chicken with Plums. Whilst Persepolis was a highly original piece of work, Chicken with Plums surpasses it in every way and is truly a great work of art. It is therefore fitting that it is a movie about art and artists. The simple tale of a musician whose only passion in a loveless marriage is searching for the perfect violin, is beautifully realized by Satrapi, her co-director and crew, and a sublime cast. A scene where the protagonist, near the end of his life, comes across his only true love, whose father had rejected his proposal to marry his daughter many years ago, is an unforgettable piece of cinema. I saw this at the Abu Dhabi Film Festival where it walked away with the Best Film prize, which it fully deserved.