After  directing her own body of work that includes the latest film “Chicken with Plums” and perviously “Persepolis,” writer and director Marjane Satrapi steers away from producing graphic novels of her personal experience and goes on a chase in the south of Spain. With the quintessential charm of Satrapi, bright Spanish landscape, and a joyful soundtrack accompanying the whole movie, The Gang of Jotas (La Bande des Jotas) results in a delightful and entertaining film. Maybe something Satrapi is going for after the poignant and nostalgic nature of her pervious works. La Bande des Jotas will only be out next week in Paris.

Starting with the old ploy of the misplaced suitcase, a mysterious, high strung and loquacious woman (Satrapi) realises she has picked up the wrong piece of luggage at the airport. She calls the owners whose name she finds on the suitcase tag and they most courteously come over to her hotel to make the exchange. Little do they suspect that for the rest of the film they will be stuck in the company of this person they have never met before and even worse, they will have to eliminate, one after the other, all the men she claims are threatening to kill her. Via Screen daily.