marjane satrapi's persepolis
during the achaemenid dynasty, persepolis was (as you may recall from high school world history class) the ancient riverside site first chosen by cyrus the great and then built up by darius the great to stand as the center of the persian empire. fastforward a couple thousand plus years, and persepolis is the name of the animated film that won the 2007 cannes film festival jury prize.
based on a autobiographical graphic novel by marjane satrapi of the
same name, the film covers her childhood and teen years from ten to twenty-one and charts the growth of her nascent political awareness.
the following synopsis may constitute a **SPOILER** in some opinions.
the film opens with the rush of the overthrow of the shah and moves through the the islamic fundamentalist
regime that took root, continues on through the iran-iraq war, and ends with the same type of tyrannical repression experienced under the shah.
during this, marjane's childhood innocence and religious belief is sullied as her
beloved uncle is released from imprisonment, re-incarcerated, and
ultimately executed. other instances of repression and resistance weave in and out of the story, and eventually land marjane in vienna as a teenager where her outspoken ways will not be a risk to her own safety. here she encounters philosophies of nihilism and anarchism, racial discrimination, her own experience of exile, and also falls in love. after a low point involving homelessness and grave illness, marjane returns to her family in tehran. though her experiences in vienna serve to develop her belief system further, upon her return home marjane suffers a malaise underpinned by spiritual and political paradoxes. but with the care of her family, anti-depressants, and general will-power, marjane regains her stamina. as the story continues, marjane's voice grows stronger as she continues making a life for herself under a repressive regime. the chain of unbearable events continue, however, eventually culminating with her permanent exile to france at the age.
**END SPOILER**
within these political events, the story stays grounded in the standard "coming of age" narrative items: childhood dreams, pop music, schoolgirl shenanigans, teenage romance, covert parties, and the aging of a grandmother. marjane undergoes the common trials that mark any good tale in this genre, to wit, separation from family, feeling angst and isolation within a peer group, and eventually making sense of the metaphysical, the corporeal, and the tangible threads that form "experience."
this is the meta of the movie: even as her home is bombed, her city destroyed, and loved ones are murdered, marjane still goes through the normal events of youth and comes out on the other side as a whole person.
and then, there's the movie beyond the story. the animation itself is a visual treat, and if you watch close, it's interesting to note the changes in style that accompany various themes throughout the movie. however, i don't get very excited about talking about animation, so i'll leave it with i enjoyed how it looked. meanwhile, the pace keeps the movie, well, moving right along.
besides winning the cannes jury prize, this movie received high marks from reviewers at publications as diverse as the washington post, slate, and the christian science monitor (to name only a small fraction of its critical fans). and not without cause. what makes
this really stand out as a feat of storytelling is the matter-of-fact
presentation that lends a delicate sense of balance. the severity of
life under war is not compromised, but nor is a political stance
hammered down on the viewer. this is not to say there is not an angle
on this story, because there certainly is. what keeps it palatable is that the angle comes across
as that of one person based on their own life rather than a political
rant. this keeps the story in the realm of the universal,
regardless of one's political position. and meanwhile (despite that fact that this film is in fact a cartoon) rarely do i encounter a movie with an arch is as literary and complete unto itself as this one.
bonus: both the subtited and dubbed versions are available, so you can have it whichever way you prefer. (i recommend the subtitles, but that's just me.)