Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis – A 2D Animation With Impact

Yet another voted as top 10 films of 2007 by the critics, I have got to drag my Movie Review Squad to check out this Oscar nominated animation from France featuring an Iranian young girl living through the Iranian Revolution (the film itself is in English).  So much faith they have on me, I was kind of worried that it would be a let down once the 2D animation appeared on the big screen.  TK did not even know what he was getting himself into!  Neither was Cynthia I suspect.  All I said was: trust me, trust me, this is good stuff.  It was not a disappointment to them, phew!  In fact, they seem to enjoy the film more than I do.

I am not a huge fan of 2D animation though I must say, the last two 2D animation films we have watched – The Simpsons Movie (America) and Paprika (Japan) – were pretty good.  This film “Persepolis” is based on Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel of the same name and is co-directed by the author herself.  I was not sure if “Persepolis” is indeed an autobiography therefore I watched the film thinking that it was fictional.  In any case, the little details and mostly personal events of someone who has to live through the Iranian Revolution as portrayed in the film were convincing enough for me.  You may laugh through some of the dark humors in the film, which helps to lighten up the mood, but overall, this film may have much impact to you emotionally.  It is almost like a documentary film on what common people in Iran has to live through during the revolution and to face the long Iran-Iraqi war (1980-1988).

“Persepolis” is mostly cast in black-and-white or monotone color theme during flashbacks and in color during the rare present time storyline.  The animation certainly retains much of the comic book feel and I personally in awe of the artwork.  2D graphics are simplistic.  And to generate emotions from simple images, to me, seems hard.  However, “Persepolis” has done a great job in communicating the underlying emotion from the way a character moves, the subtle change in shape of the eyes, the extension of the lips, to the mad heavy rock music and dance moves.

Good stuff or not, you decide.  “Persepolis” is definitely not one of those films that are meant to purely entertain.  You may possibly walk out of theatre feeling a bit more aware of what some of the Iranians have to go through in their daily lives.  For a better understanding on the Islamic development and why Iran and Iraq is constantly in conflict, I would still recommend the book “Islam”.  In case if you wonder what Persepolis is – like I do – Persepolis was an ancient Persian capital and is now in Iran.  Persepolis is also a World Heritage Site as declared by the UNESCO.