Poulet aux Prunes

Teheran 1958. The virtuoso musician Nasser Ali Khan and his wife have a fierce quarrel. In the heat of the argument, Nasser’s beloved Iranian lute breaks. This instrument is irreplaceable in the eyes of the artist, and when the damage turns out to be irreparable, a depressed Nasser contemplates ending his life. During the next eight days, Nasser looks back at his eventful existence. His memories reflect an image of a modern and confident Iranian society, whose expectations were increasingly dashed under the Shah’s reactionary regime. Based on Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel, and harking back to the cartoonist’s family history, this film tells Nasser’s story in the style of an oriental fairytale.