Poulet aux Prunes (Chicken with Plums) 2011))

Ready to die

Nassar Ali Khan is a well known violinist who has decided to die.  His career is stalled, his marriage is suffering, and he pines for a long lost love.  This whimsical, humorous, and sad story tells of lost loves and relationships gone bad.  I love the visuals in this films and am reminded of films such as Bunny and the Bull and The Science of Sleep. 

Poulet aux Prunes gets 3/5 out of 5 stars!

Director: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi
Writer: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi
Starring: Mathieu Amalric, Edouard Baer, Maria de Medeiros
Rotten Tomatoes: 74%
Metacritic: 70%

Bunny and the Bull (2009)

Road trip!
Stephen has not left his home for over a year.   He trips down memory lane recalling the European road trip he took with his friend Bunny.  I was hooked on this one from the neatly imagined long shot opening credits.  And the rest of the film did not disappoint.  Mixing stop motion animation, live action, and creative sets we voyage across Europe with Stephen and Bunny as they meet a fiery Spanish girl, a stuffed bear, and a crazy homeless man.  Offbeat and slightly weird, this one is laugh out loud funny.  Recommended if you like anything by Michel Gondry especially The Science of Sleep. 

This long strange trip gets 4 out of 5 Poblanos!


Director:  Paul King
Writer:  Paul King
Starring:  Edward Hogg, Simon Farnaby and Verónica Echegui
Rotten Tomatoes:  61%
Metacritic: no ratings