Persepolis

Persepolis is based on Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel of the same name. It was co-directed and co-written by Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud. Although it is done in animation format it is not a film for children.

Persepolis is told through the eyes of young Marjane who lives in Iran. She and her family live through the horrors of the Shah's regime. Friends and relatives are jailed and sometimes even murdered. When they revolution comes they are happy but the tide turns when it becomes an Islamic revolution. Their lives are turned around. Marjane is an outspoken critic of the Islamic regime. Eventually her parents send her to live with friends in Vienna. That doesn't turn out as expected and Marjane returns to Iran.

This film is like a well told history lesson. My heart went out to Marjane and her family. Several times during the film I had tears in my eyes. It is hard to imagine living in such a place.

The film's animation is not as sophisticated as some of the computer generated animation we are used to. But this film is not about graphic design and the simple animation really does the trick. The film is in French with English subtitles. The characters are voiced by Chiara Mastroianni (Marjane), Catherine Deneuve (her mother), Danielle Dairieux (her wise grandmother) and Simon Abkarian (her father).

I highly recommend this film. It opens up our eyes to a world that we are not familiar with and makes us appreciate the freedoms that we (so far) have in this very flawed country.