Persepolis

My experience with animated foreign films is essentially relegated to two films- The Triplets of Bellville and Spirited away. I hated the former and loved the latter. I am not familiar with the graphic novel on which Persepolis is based, so I was not quite sure what I was getting myself into with this movie. Plus, the second trailer in which the lead girl sings "Eye of the Tiger" was awkward and made the movie look cheap, but the reviews were all pretty stellar. I went back and forth on whether or not to even see it. However, I had not seen a movie in the theater in over two weeks and I was itching for that theater going experience, and while I know that isn't the most ringing endorsement for seeing a movie, it did get me to see it, right?

Persepolis spans a little over a decade worth of time in the life of a French speaking Iranian girl from the late seventies to the late eighties. The Movie is often narrated by various members of the cast, a la, The Laramie Project. The girl, Marjane Satrapi, believes she is going to be a prophet because God speaks to her at night before and during sleep. She has communist parents but this is during the Islamic revolution and when the deeply conservative faction wins out, their city and their lives are changed forever. The women become mere servants in most aspects and Marjane's parents ship her off to England because she is unable to keep her forward thinking mouth shut and her parents feel she will be raped and killed. In England things do not go well for Marjane and she starts to lose her way, forgetting her heritage in favor of fitting in. As she blossoms into a young woman, she falls in and out of love and the trauma of one such love leave her homeless and depressed. She comes home to the more peaceful, yet backward thinking homeland of her youth, but before too long, her family believes she is meant for better things.

Animated in very distinct style, like it was just taken from a Graphic Novel, Persepolis is a truly moving picture that transcends a specific culture. The animation is often gorgeous, although fairly straight forward and simple looking. I think that is part of what makes the whole thing so moving. We feel as if we are witnessing this entire story through the eyes of a girl who starts as a precocious 9 year old and transforms, before our eyes, into a young woman trying to find her way in a world that no longer makes sense to her. She is living with the fact that her family members have been killed because they were political prisoners refusing to go back on what they belief. It is a mostly autobiographical story (I believe) and the style of animation helps with the intimacy. Yet, the simple animation does not keep the movie from being incredibly visually appealing. The director sets up shots beautifully and the panning camera action really adds to the intensity of the darker moments throughout the movie. Persepolis also manages to nicely weave between the absurdly silly (Marjane going through puberty) and the very dark war moments. The laughs never come at the expense of the story telling and all of the jokes add something to underlying themes.

The themes within the movie are plentiful, but Marjane's Grandmother seems to be at the heart of the movie with themes of integrity, humility, forgiveness and love. These are not themes exclusive to any part of the world and are things from which we can all benefit. The Grandmother character is the soul or heart of everything that happens. She provides insight to the craziness of war, she brings a soft sense of humor when things are very bad, but mostly she is not afraid to be honest, when she sees something she doesn't like. When Marjane is recounting a time when she told soldiers a man was hitting on her in order for her to not be arrested for wearing make up and the innocent man gets arrested instead, Grandma lets Marjane know that selfishness has no place in the world and that people are being arrested every day for crimes they did not commit and it is up to people like Marjane to fight for those people. It is one of the strongest moments in the film and really helps personalize the film for anyone watching.

What few complaints I have are that Communism was shown in an only positive light, but it can be forgiven because of how bad the alternative felt. Also, at times the editing seems a bit choppy as scenes sometimes end before they feel finished. That being said, I recommend this movie for anyone who is interested in an alternative to the bad horror movies that dominate the beginning of the year. It is a touching, funny, thoughtful and interesting movie that deserves an audience.

Final Grade: A-