MOSTRA ’68: Venice Screening Premiere for Cast & Crew of “Chickens With Plums”

Chickens with Plums is one of 23 films vying for Venice Film Festival’s top Golden Lion award. ‎’The film is a fable, there is no historical reconstruction even if it evokes an era which is now long gone, an Iran (the country) which has disappeared for ever,’ Satrapi said. In Peresepolis the fundamentalism of Iran’s Islamic rulers, particularly in their attitudes to women is criticized, but Satrapi’s new movie is far less political in its tone. ‘It’s alove story without hope: a man ends up dying of love. It’s a nihilistic film because life is nihilistic,’ the 41-year-old Satrapi said. Despite its somber subject matter contains many humorous moments.

Cast & Crew Applauded for Chicken with Plums at Venice’s Mostra :

Warm Applause After Screening:

Official Trailer:

Venice, Italy – Iranian-born French graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi on Saturday presented her film Poulet aux Prunes (Chicken with Plums) a doomed love story setin 1950s Tehran at the Venice Film Festival.

The film which screened in the festival’s main competition section, was co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud.

Unlike Satrapi’s well-received 2007 effort Persepolis, about the coming-of-age of a young girl against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, Chicken with Plums is not animated but involves human actors.

These included Mathieu Amalric, in the role of the film’s protagonist, violin player Nasser Ali Khan, Maria De Medeiros as his unloved wife and Iranian actress, Golshifteh Farahani as the unattainable object of his desire, the beautiful,Iran.

‘The film is a fable, there is no historical reconstruction even if it evokes an erawhich is now long gone, an Iran (the country) which has disappeared for ever,’Satrapi said.

In Peresepolis the fundamentalism of Iran’s Islamic rulers, particularly in their attitudes to women is criticized, but Satrapi’s new movie is far less political in its tone.

‘It’s a love story without hope: a man ends updying of love. It’s a nihilistic film because life is nihilistic,’ the 41-year-old Satrapi said.

Despite its somber subject matter contains many humorous moments.

Chickens with Plums is one of 23 films vying for Venice Film Festival’s top Golden Lionaward.

Scheduled to screen on Sunday were two other in-competition films, British director Steve McQueen’s Shame and Italian Emanuele Crialese’s Terra ferma.

On Saturday Venice also saw the world premiere of Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion an out-of-competition film which deals with the rapid global spread of a lethal, airborne virus. The ensemble A-list cast included Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow.

The Venice Film Festival runs until September 10.

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POSITIVE REVIEWS FOR FIRST SCREENING

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CHICKEN WITH PLUMS byJay WEISSBERG (Variety)

The same winning balance of seriousness and humor thatmade “Persepolis” such a hit works equally well in “Chicken With Plums,” whose visual flair proves that helmers Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud have a career in live-action as well as in animation. Largely set in 1958 Tehran, the story, adapted from Satrapi’s graphic novel, is a fail-safe tale of lost love leavened with panache, incorporating past and present with sweet and sour flavorings. It’s a rich, enjoyable repast certain to grace screens worldwide, where many will come back for second helpings.

By By Mike Collett-White (Reuters)

VENICE,Italy (Reuters) -.”Chicken With Plums” is co-directed by Iranian-born Marjane Satrapi, a French graphic novelist best known for her comic strip film”Persepolis.”

“It is nihilistic because life is nihilistic,” said Satrapi of the movie’s more sombre moments. “If we are looking for a little note of hope then we cannot findit in the movie because there is no note of hope in life … we are all going to die. “I always remember the movies when the end is not so nice,”she told reporters after a press screening where the movie received warm applause.

Related ‘Venice Film Festival’ Blogs:

CHICKEN WITH PLUMS: Official Trailer of Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronaud’s New Film

PRESIDENCY ON SCREEN: George Clooney & Ryan Gosling in “Ides of March”

POLANSKI-REZA: Roman Polanski’s “God’s Of Carnage” In Line Up for Venice

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