Persepolis

Written and Directed by: Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi


I had been meaning to go see this when it was at River Oaks/Greenway Theaters late last year. But you know how those things go. Then it got an Oscar nod and I was like “dammit I wanted to see that”. So when it popped up as highly recommended (4 stars) on my Netflix list, I scooped it up.

The movie starts as Marjane (note the writer’s name. Yes it’s a biopic.) sits in the airport in Paris waiting for a flight back to her native Tehran (capital of Iran). She then flashes back to her childhood and tells the story of how she gets to where she is now.

In the 1970s Iran was under the rule of a cruel dictator Shah. Her family was actually in the bloodline of the previous President, and since he was overthrown by Shah, they were very revolutionary. They had a few family members die in the revolution, and were sympathetic to the cause. The Iranians take control back from Shah, but it turns out the fundamentalists were even worse than Shah was. The country was put under strict religious laws. Women were required to wear scarves in public. Liquor, porn, gambling, makeup, and other various items were outlawed. Marjane’s family does what they can to get by but with young Marjane growing more and more outspoken with her political views, and the country becoming more and more ravaged by war, they decide it is best to send her abroad to school.

She is then 13 attending school in Austria and France. Trying to fit in with the kids who speak a foreign language, making an effort to hold on to her Iranian heritage, and make it in the world with her family hundreds of miles away. Along her travels, she finds love, a sense of self and eventually homelessness.

When she returns to Iran, she finds the country in a worse state than when she left it. But her and her family have to find a way to survive.

Now, I know it seems like a downer of a movie but first let me tell you why you will like it. Young Marjane is very funny. She dreams of being a Saint and is an outspoken political activist at the age of 10. Her grandmother is a riot too. But I don’t know of anyone who can’t relate to a coming of age story. And it was completely unknown information to me about the Iran revolution. Made me get online and research a few things (ie: Iran was Persia, and the capital, Tehran, was called “Persepolis”. How you like that?)

Now I’m gonna tell you why some people might dismiss it. One, its French (Marjane lives there now). They have dubbed English versions, but suck it up and just get the regular French one. You can manage subtitles. Second, it’s animated. Not in the computer generated Pixar sense, and not in the cartoony…say Simpsons way either. Think comic strip. Like the dramatic comic strips you would skip. The flashback scenes (most of the movie) are black and white. But I got so into the story I didn’t think anything of the animation and I don’t know how the story could have been told without it. Apparently it was a book and comic and then was adapted into a movie.

Anyway, it was incredibly good. You really get drawn into the realism of the characters. How’s that for irony. And despite the serious tones and situations the movie deals with, you do get a few good laughs in and there is a bittersweet ending. It aint a feel good movie, but you do reflect some and think about what you would do if you were in little Marjane’s Nikes. Yes she rocks the gangsta Nikes. Emphasis on the rock. Check it out.