Persepolis

To say Marjane Satrapi led an interesting life is an understatement. Born in Iran in 1969, the graphic novelist and filmmaker witnessed the fall of the Shah and the stripping away of civil liberties in her homeland. Marjane’s experiences went into a graphic novel called Persepolis and that graphic novel was made into a 2007 animated feature directed by Satrapi and French comic artist Vincent Paronnaud.

In many ways, Persepolis is merely a coming-of-age story set to the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution. The film, which won the 2007 Jury Prize at Cannes, follows Marjane through her life using elegant animation in both black and white and colour. We begin with Marjane in the airport smoking. She begins to think back to her life in Iran in 1979 and we follow her thoughts back to where she was born. As a young girl, Marji had dreams of becoming a prophet. She loved Bruce Lee. As an adult, her idealism has drained out.

The film uses Marjane’s memories and black and white animation to highlight the historical context behind the young girl’s experiences. We learn of the uprising against the Shah, the hopes of the Iranians for a more just society, the unity of family in tough times, and the crushing reality of war. Throughout it all, Marji has a more urgent task. She is precocious, listens to Iron Maiden, and later heads to school in Austria to “grow up.”

The animation style of Persepolis is similar to that of the graphic novels. The simple black and white shimmers with remarkable detail. The style attempts to fit Marjane’s massive story into a 98-minute frame and succeeds wonderfully. This is an animated film for adults, one that is dazzling to look at and loaded with context and information to ponder.

In many ways, Persepolis is an ultimately refreshing coming-of-age tale in a decade loaded with them. Here we have a young woman with purpose and with legitimate trials to overcome. And she does overcome, marvellously and elegantly in her own way. She offers hope when there is little and keeps her wits about her as long as she can. But the crush of things and the weight of life eventually wear Marjane down and Persepolis allows us to experience that, too. We break when she does.

For the sake of this review, I watched the English dubbed version of the movie. The vocal talents were tremendous, with Chiara Mastroianni voicing teenage and adult Marjane in both the French and English versions. Catherine Deneuve is Marji’s mother in both versions, while Sean Penn voices the father in the English version. The father in the French version is voiced by the one and only Simon Abkarian. Also featured in the English version is Iggy Pop as Uncle Anouche.

Persepolis is a special motion picture. Painstakingly animated and brimming with vibrancy, this film yearns to be seen. Show it to your children, if you have any, and explain it to them tolerantly. They (and you) will learn about life from another point of view and about growing up as a human being in a world that is often uncertain, upsetting, and unsafe. They’ll also learn that it’s okay to hope, laugh, play, and listen to Iron Maiden at full volume.

French Trailer: