Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: French
Subtitles: English
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: February 26, 2013
Run Time: 91 minutes
The
presentation of Chicken with Plums is so whimsical and fun, I was taken aback
by the darker shift in narrative towards the film’s end. There was no
preparation for the level of seriousness, mostly because the tone is set at a
much lighter level when we begin. Previously, filmmaker Marjane Satrapi dealt
with heavier themes within the lighter context of animation in Persepolis
Though
this film feels uneven at times, there is still much to be admired.
Performances and creativity alone make it a worthwhile film to watch. The movie
begins with a world-renowned violinist seeking a new instrument to play after
his is damaged in a fight with his wife. Each instrument he finds fails to
produce the same sound as his beloved violin, so Nasser-Ali Khan decides to go
to bed and await death. As he starves himself to death, he has visions and
insight, along with memories of his youth. These discoveries are made on his
death bed, as his children and wife watch him selfishly wither away.
There
is a love story amidst all of the selfish behavior, though it is not one with
his wife, making our protagonist more than a little unlikable at moments. The
film doesn’t really stop long enough to examine the faults in the protagonist,
instead glossing past it into the romantic side of the storytelling. The DVD
includes a commentary track with directors Marjane Satrapi and Vincent
Paronnaud, as well as a Q&A with them.
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