I happened onto this film quite by accident, flipping through the channels early in the morning after returning home from work, and was intrigued. It was the final five to ten minutes, though, so it clearly would not do to sit and watch the final minutes only.
Now admittedly, what clinched the interest in the movie was that it was in French. Since I do not often see movies in French on television, it was part of the draw.
However, once I started watching it later that evening, something about it gripped me far more than it being simply in French. It was a good movie. A love story of sorts, but not a conventional one. In fact, it was rather bizarre in several ways, although not in a bad way, or anything. For some reason, it reminded me at times of Amelie, which was a charming French film that came out maybe a decade and change ago, and even made it fairly big in the States - a rarity for a French film.
In any case, there it was. A decent movie about a man, a musician, living in Tehran in the late 1950's, while that country was still relatively peaceful and modern. Clearly, this was in the pre-Iranian Revolution days, before the Islamic Revolution turned everything on it's head. It would not be possible for this movie to take place in Iran in the days since the revolution.
The movie focuses on Nasser-Ali, who we learn quickly is one of the most amazing and gifted musicians of his age. Slowly but surely, we come to understand how he came to be such an unbelievable musician, and in the process, we get a glimpse of not only his own life, but those of the people closest to him, as well, including his wife, his brother, his children, his mother, his musical instructor, and finally, his long lost lover.
We see Nasser-Ali in a music shop, testing violins and trying to get the right sound. But he has exacting standards, and he ultimately storms into the shop enraged, and demands to get his money back before the stunned shop owner. In time, he takes a long road trip to try and find another violin, although even this fails to please him.
Dispirited, Nasser-Ali decided to give up on life, and just lies in bed, trying to will death to come. He has made his entire life, his whole career, based upon the music that he produced, and we learn that his old and beloved violin has been destroyed (we do later find out why).
Ultimately, we find out that things are not always as they appear. While he became a truly amazing musician in time, he did not start out as one. His musical instructor tells him that while he plays in a technically perfect manner, he still fails to breathe real life into the music. Music, the instructor says, is creation, and thus an extension of God. So, Nasser-Ali digs deep, trying to grasp what his instructor means. While he is lost in these thoughts, he catches a glimpse of a stunningly beautiful woman, Irâne, and finds himself completely taken by her, and decides to follow her. He gets to know Irâne in a very entertaining and charming way, and they hit it off. They are in love, but when he decides to ask Irâne's father for her hand in marriage, he is rejected, and they are kept apart. This produces considerable misery for both of them, and it is clear that neither of them will ever love anyone again, that all others pail in comparison to each other.
Crushed, we see Nasser-Ali back with his musical instructor, and now the music that he plays is brilliant and very moving. His instructor tells him this, and then gives him a parting gift, revealing that there is nothing more that he can teach his student. Khan then goes around the world, playing music and making himself famous in the process. We see him travel to Paris, to Cairo, to New York, and beyond. But he is unhappy, despite his amazing success. Every note that he plays is a remembrance of his beloved, who is not with him. We see her secretly following his musical career and reveling in the beauty of his music, except that she does so with a broken heart, as well. Still, by now, she is married and with children, and with a life completely separate from him.
After two decades of traveling the world and playing his beautiful music, Nasser-Ali returns home. At his mother's insistence, he marries Faringuisse, a girl much younger than himself, who has secretly been in love with him for many years now. She seems elated to get him to marry her, although he seems less than thrilled himself, constantly repeating that he does not love her.
Unable to continue his musical career, and unwilling or unable to make money working any other job, we see Nasser-Ali feeling sorry for himself in a surprisingly unhappy life. He has a wife and two children, yet seems incapable of seeing how blessed his own life is. By the time he actually realizes this and appreciates life enough to no longer want to die, it is of course too late.
Poulet aux Pruns/ Chicken with Plums is a very good movie. It is entertaining and artistic. This is not the kind of movie that will stun you with special effects, or will wow you with unbelievable locations and beautiful shots. It is almost entirely story driven, and so the scenery and many of the characters are embellished in a very colorful, clearly artistic manner. That is quite fitting, since the story focuses on an artist, a musician, who only manages to perfect his own art, to breathe real life into it, once he has truly understood what sorrow is. In the end, the only thing that keep the old romance alive is his music, and we see that this is what keeps him going with it.
I recommend this movie, although it is not for everyone. It is not the kind of movie that would do well in the United States today, as it cannot compete with the big name blockbuster movies. This is worlds away from the Transformers, or the super hero movies, or even the Planet of the Apes series. Some of those movies I like, although this is an entirely different kind of a movie, and might require some patience to see the story unfold, as the viewer must wait to see the subtleties and surprises in store. All I can say to recommend it is that, in the end, it is worth watching!
The movie focuses on Nasser-Ali, who we learn quickly is one of the most amazing and gifted musicians of his age. Slowly but surely, we come to understand how he came to be such an unbelievable musician, and in the process, we get a glimpse of not only his own life, but those of the people closest to him, as well, including his wife, his brother, his children, his mother, his musical instructor, and finally, his long lost lover.
We see Nasser-Ali in a music shop, testing violins and trying to get the right sound. But he has exacting standards, and he ultimately storms into the shop enraged, and demands to get his money back before the stunned shop owner. In time, he takes a long road trip to try and find another violin, although even this fails to please him.
Dispirited, Nasser-Ali decided to give up on life, and just lies in bed, trying to will death to come. He has made his entire life, his whole career, based upon the music that he produced, and we learn that his old and beloved violin has been destroyed (we do later find out why).
Ultimately, we find out that things are not always as they appear. While he became a truly amazing musician in time, he did not start out as one. His musical instructor tells him that while he plays in a technically perfect manner, he still fails to breathe real life into the music. Music, the instructor says, is creation, and thus an extension of God. So, Nasser-Ali digs deep, trying to grasp what his instructor means. While he is lost in these thoughts, he catches a glimpse of a stunningly beautiful woman, Irâne, and finds himself completely taken by her, and decides to follow her. He gets to know Irâne in a very entertaining and charming way, and they hit it off. They are in love, but when he decides to ask Irâne's father for her hand in marriage, he is rejected, and they are kept apart. This produces considerable misery for both of them, and it is clear that neither of them will ever love anyone again, that all others pail in comparison to each other.
Crushed, we see Nasser-Ali back with his musical instructor, and now the music that he plays is brilliant and very moving. His instructor tells him this, and then gives him a parting gift, revealing that there is nothing more that he can teach his student. Khan then goes around the world, playing music and making himself famous in the process. We see him travel to Paris, to Cairo, to New York, and beyond. But he is unhappy, despite his amazing success. Every note that he plays is a remembrance of his beloved, who is not with him. We see her secretly following his musical career and reveling in the beauty of his music, except that she does so with a broken heart, as well. Still, by now, she is married and with children, and with a life completely separate from him.
After two decades of traveling the world and playing his beautiful music, Nasser-Ali returns home. At his mother's insistence, he marries Faringuisse, a girl much younger than himself, who has secretly been in love with him for many years now. She seems elated to get him to marry her, although he seems less than thrilled himself, constantly repeating that he does not love her.
Unable to continue his musical career, and unwilling or unable to make money working any other job, we see Nasser-Ali feeling sorry for himself in a surprisingly unhappy life. He has a wife and two children, yet seems incapable of seeing how blessed his own life is. By the time he actually realizes this and appreciates life enough to no longer want to die, it is of course too late.
Poulet aux Pruns/ Chicken with Plums is a very good movie. It is entertaining and artistic. This is not the kind of movie that will stun you with special effects, or will wow you with unbelievable locations and beautiful shots. It is almost entirely story driven, and so the scenery and many of the characters are embellished in a very colorful, clearly artistic manner. That is quite fitting, since the story focuses on an artist, a musician, who only manages to perfect his own art, to breathe real life into it, once he has truly understood what sorrow is. In the end, the only thing that keep the old romance alive is his music, and we see that this is what keeps him going with it.
I recommend this movie, although it is not for everyone. It is not the kind of movie that would do well in the United States today, as it cannot compete with the big name blockbuster movies. This is worlds away from the Transformers, or the super hero movies, or even the Planet of the Apes series. Some of those movies I like, although this is an entirely different kind of a movie, and might require some patience to see the story unfold, as the viewer must wait to see the subtleties and surprises in store. All I can say to recommend it is that, in the end, it is worth watching!
Beautiful -- do you know if it will be shown again?
ReplyDeleteNo, I am not sure if it will replay again anytime soon. When I checked, it only showed that evening, so I made a point of watching it then. Sorry.
ReplyDelete