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Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud, 2007)
This captivating French animation wonder, based on Satrapi's semi-autobiographical graphic novels, is a sharp combination of Iranian history, political awareness, a coming-of-age story, love of family, and some intriguing animation techniques. It tells the story, in flashbacks, of Marjane's life in Iran under both the Shah and the fundamentalist "Islamic Republic" and during the Iraq-Iran War, as well as her times spent in Europe where she always felt to be a fish out of water. Whether you're aware of Iran's history during the last 80 or so years or not, this is a fascinating perspective, but it's much more alive and humorous than any history lesson could be.
One thing which is totally unique, at least to me, about Persepolis is that it's a mostly 2-D animated piece of art which is heavily inspired by film noir. Most of the film is in black and white, with major use of shadows. Although it is full of funny moments concerning family and growing up, there is a threat of danger and violence during each step the film takes. The film also uses a surrealistic approach occasionally, especially during scenes involving drugs and the Kafkaesque nightmare in which women and non-fundamentalists find themselves in the Iran of the later 20th century.
Before I make the film sound too much of a downer, I need to add that I laughed out loud several times. Many of these involved Marjane's unlucky attempts to find a boyfriend. Her grandmother is also a foul-mouthed lady who teaches her about integrity, but she and Marjane both swear quite a bit, and it actually is very funny to hear them say things you couldn't really imagine. (Don't get too worried though; sure, it's an adult-themed film, but it's only rated PG-13.) There are also many touching moments involving Marjane's family, often because the family has always been Marxist and therefore, they've always had family members in jail or killed. Not that you need me to explain this, but in general, everyone, regardless of their politics or religion, is a human being. It's just that sometimes people act much more inhuman than they realize. This film shows things in a realistic light in my mind, and so it's nice to remember that people throughout the world share more similarities than they do differences. Oh yeah, did I mention that the animation techniques and the music are groovy? I especially liked Marjane's crazy interpretation of "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.
This captivating French animation wonder, based on Satrapi's semi-autobiographical graphic novels, is a sharp combination of Iranian history, political awareness, a coming-of-age story, love of family, and some intriguing animation techniques. It tells the story, in flashbacks, of Marjane's life in Iran under both the Shah and the fundamentalist "Islamic Republic" and during the Iraq-Iran War, as well as her times spent in Europe where she always felt to be a fish out of water. Whether you're aware of Iran's history during the last 80 or so years or not, this is a fascinating perspective, but it's much more alive and humorous than any history lesson could be.
One thing which is totally unique, at least to me, about Persepolis is that it's a mostly 2-D animated piece of art which is heavily inspired by film noir. Most of the film is in black and white, with major use of shadows. Although it is full of funny moments concerning family and growing up, there is a threat of danger and violence during each step the film takes. The film also uses a surrealistic approach occasionally, especially during scenes involving drugs and the Kafkaesque nightmare in which women and non-fundamentalists find themselves in the Iran of the later 20th century.
Before I make the film sound too much of a downer, I need to add that I laughed out loud several times. Many of these involved Marjane's unlucky attempts to find a boyfriend. Her grandmother is also a foul-mouthed lady who teaches her about integrity, but she and Marjane both swear quite a bit, and it actually is very funny to hear them say things you couldn't really imagine. (Don't get too worried though; sure, it's an adult-themed film, but it's only rated PG-13.) There are also many touching moments involving Marjane's family, often because the family has always been Marxist and therefore, they've always had family members in jail or killed. Not that you need me to explain this, but in general, everyone, regardless of their politics or religion, is a human being. It's just that sometimes people act much more inhuman than they realize. This film shows things in a realistic light in my mind, and so it's nice to remember that people throughout the world share more similarities than they do differences. Oh yeah, did I mention that the animation techniques and the music are groovy? I especially liked Marjane's crazy interpretation of "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor.