Many filmmakers have made the transition from animation to live-action, but Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi's new film suggests they're better off going back to the drawing board. Although their debut (Persepolis, from Satrapi's comics memoir) dealt with the Iranian Revolution, their latest leaves the political statements to the subtext. Though the "meaning" isn't difficult to parse: they follow a Persian musician, Nasser, who leads a melancholic life after his first love, Iran — a woman, not the country — rejected his advances to instead marry an army general (subtle). So when his unloving wife destroys his prized violin, he decides to "wait" for death, lying in his bed until the grim reaper comes to claim him. The many pieces — the socio-political undertones, the "life of an artist" narrative, the interspersed animated segments — never coalesce into a satisfying whole, yet the indelible images make up for the lack of harmony. Chicken with Plums is a feast for the eyes, not the soul.
