We first meet the smart and clever Marjane when she is only nine. With the fundamentalists quickly taking power Marjane is forced to outsmart the "˜social guardians' in order to do the things she loves: listen to punk and ABBA; however fear is still present everywhere as the Iran/Iraq war begins to heat up. Scared for her life Marjane's parents send her to school in Austria where she is forced to deal with the same fundamentalist that she had just fled. But soon she finds her nitch and begins to settle into her new home. But after a series of mishaps she becomes homesick and moves back home to live under the new laws. At the ripe age of 24 our lovely protagonist enters art school and continues to speak out about the horrific hypocrisy that she continues to witness. It is then that she realizes that although she is 100% Iranian, there is no way that she can live in Iran. So she packs up her bags and heads to France to pursue a bright future, though still tainted by her troubled yet prevailing past.
Thriving on its story, animation and dialogue Persepolis brings a new definition to adult animation by creating a serious yet humorous look at the effects that a war and government can have on a child. Bringing to life the violence, heartbreak and skepticism that comes with a major political change, Marjane Satrapi captures it all beautifully as she takes the opportunity to tell her story.
What I found most striking about this film was its animation. Although the film consists of only black and white pictures, it was still successful in grasping and exemplifying the raw emotions and confusion that runs through a young girl's mind at a time of change. The shadows and simplicity of the overall visuals helped to focus the viewer's concentration on the story and the character's actions rather than the often overused jaw-dropping visual effects.
Another high point of the film was its dialogue. Filled with intense one liners the film would appear to be a hard and violent one; however I have to admit that Marjane Satrapi rose to the occasion. Her subtle comedic appeal wins you over in the first ten minutes as you get to see the wit and personality of Marjane come to life. The lines are perfectly placed, providing for an often needed break and really helps the film flow and carry an even, entertaining balance.
With that said I do have to discuss the one and only thing that I disliked about the film. Though is carries a short running time of 95 minutes, for some reason I felt that the story seemed to drag a bit towards the end. Hitting a standstill in the last ten minutes or so, the film took longer than usual to develop and carry through. However, that is the only "˜bad' part of the entire film, so I still urge you to see this flick. Never before has a film carried such a strong political message, contained such a witty character as the lead lady and been presented with as much class as this one. In short the film is a sure crowd-pleaser and should be missed by no one.
