Literally translated into "City of the Persians", Persepolis is a biographical tale following the trials and tribulations of an Iranian born woman named Marjane Satrapi. Set upon the backdrop of contemporary Iranian politics and history, Persepolis charts her young life as she learns about revolution, rock music and the harsh realities that the modern day world has to offer. It is a simplistically complex, fictionally factional story which is at times funny and in others sections touchingly poignant while always being brutally honest, as she brings her unique perspective from graphic novel onto the big screen.
Initially, most striking is the style of animation which is employed throughout the duration of Marjane's story. It is a unique fusion of seemingly simple child-like figures that vary from the normal to almost Monty Python-styled moments of parody and satire, to a delicate understated eye for subtle craftsmanship that interweaves throughout the scenes. Obviously, after the completion of the film, the animation can undeservedly take a back seat in ones mind when compared and contrasted with all the powerful emotions that course through this film, but the most wonderful thing and hand drawn story telling is it opens more options than its live action cousin. Persepolis is a mere ninety minutes in length, yet so much is said and told and not all of it through the use of dialogue. What Persepolis manages to achieve is being able to tell the tales of Marjane and her family and inform us of the historical and political backgrounds of Iran by seamlessly merging into these pictorial vignettes which end up conveying more than a verbal retelling could ever manage. Its animation is as warm and as infectious as the story that unravels, providing a wonderful counterpart to the meat of this piece of cinema.
I've read one or two negative reviews from ultra-liberals that state this is propaganda, claiming it to be a non too subtle means of asking the western world to intervene in Iranian politics, but that is biased unpoliticised nonsense. This is only propaganda so far as that this is one persons tale, from an incredibly strong woman, who has gone against the repressive conventions of her country and managed to document her life and her opinions on the world which she has experienced. Whether these are wholly factual I would suppose is up for debate, but the sincerity, honesty and warmth which is felt when watching Persepolis would lead most rational viewers to conclude that Marjane Satrapi has bared her soul in her work.
While Persepolis may not be a historical document it is certainly informative, and because we know the goings on that are providing the backdrop for this film were and are real it gives a greater sense of importance and meaning than any imagined text possibly could. Charting Marjane, we follow her through the Iranian revolution as the Shah and their royal lineage ruled with an iron fist over the populous before being over thrown and replaced by a government which made the iron fist look like a wet glove. It puts into context how much our protagonist as an individual how to weigh up in her mind, as she fights with her head and her heart, with the former telling her it is essential to leave, while her heart yearns to be with the loving family that lives in her homeland. Persepolis,however, not only shows the repressive, extremist views of the "modern" Iranian state but tackles in an equally unrestrained and delicate manner the uninformed stereotypically infused views and the often self-centrally deluded attitudes of western society, and how we can find ourselves equally repressive in various other ways.
Persepolis is a heart felt, heart wrenching, heart warming and well humoured film of a growing girl whose two most important figures in her life are her God and Karl Marx. It is a unique film which has no contemporaries in the originality stakes which is infinitely charming and should not be missed by any lover of animated films, foreign films or just film as a medium. True to itself and the author who experienced everything from unfaithful lovers to atrocities of war, Persepolis is an excellent film which pummels the pesky rodents of Ratatouille in a rat shaped mush because, to be frank, it is much more deserving than the mere nomination it received for best animation.
Initially, most striking is the style of animation which is employed throughout the duration of Marjane's story. It is a unique fusion of seemingly simple child-like figures that vary from the normal to almost Monty Python-styled moments of parody and satire, to a delicate understated eye for subtle craftsmanship that interweaves throughout the scenes. Obviously, after the completion of the film, the animation can undeservedly take a back seat in ones mind when compared and contrasted with all the powerful emotions that course through this film, but the most wonderful thing and hand drawn story telling is it opens more options than its live action cousin. Persepolis is a mere ninety minutes in length, yet so much is said and told and not all of it through the use of dialogue. What Persepolis manages to achieve is being able to tell the tales of Marjane and her family and inform us of the historical and political backgrounds of Iran by seamlessly merging into these pictorial vignettes which end up conveying more than a verbal retelling could ever manage. Its animation is as warm and as infectious as the story that unravels, providing a wonderful counterpart to the meat of this piece of cinema.
I've read one or two negative reviews from ultra-liberals that state this is propaganda, claiming it to be a non too subtle means of asking the western world to intervene in Iranian politics, but that is biased unpoliticised nonsense. This is only propaganda so far as that this is one persons tale, from an incredibly strong woman, who has gone against the repressive conventions of her country and managed to document her life and her opinions on the world which she has experienced. Whether these are wholly factual I would suppose is up for debate, but the sincerity, honesty and warmth which is felt when watching Persepolis would lead most rational viewers to conclude that Marjane Satrapi has bared her soul in her work.
While Persepolis may not be a historical document it is certainly informative, and because we know the goings on that are providing the backdrop for this film were and are real it gives a greater sense of importance and meaning than any imagined text possibly could. Charting Marjane, we follow her through the Iranian revolution as the Shah and their royal lineage ruled with an iron fist over the populous before being over thrown and replaced by a government which made the iron fist look like a wet glove. It puts into context how much our protagonist as an individual how to weigh up in her mind, as she fights with her head and her heart, with the former telling her it is essential to leave, while her heart yearns to be with the loving family that lives in her homeland. Persepolis,however, not only shows the repressive, extremist views of the "modern" Iranian state but tackles in an equally unrestrained and delicate manner the uninformed stereotypically infused views and the often self-centrally deluded attitudes of western society, and how we can find ourselves equally repressive in various other ways.
Persepolis is a heart felt, heart wrenching, heart warming and well humoured film of a growing girl whose two most important figures in her life are her God and Karl Marx. It is a unique film which has no contemporaries in the originality stakes which is infinitely charming and should not be missed by any lover of animated films, foreign films or just film as a medium. True to itself and the author who experienced everything from unfaithful lovers to atrocities of war, Persepolis is an excellent film which pummels the pesky rodents of Ratatouille in a rat shaped mush because, to be frank, it is much more deserving than the mere nomination it received for best animation.