Persepolis Revised Movie Review

While settling into a chair to watch a movie, many will comment on how unrealistic the story is, or how people in “real life” would never act like that. Still, the heart pumping fight scenes of the must-see blockbuster typically draw people in droves as they escape normalcy to live vicariously through the characters. However, the less celebrated ones that feature a coming-of-age story are the ones that many want to relate to. They can say that they have, at one point, gone through what the protagonist has experienced. Persepolis is no different, though the circumstances of her politically deteriorating country showcases more then what is pictured as black and white.

In the style of the graphic novels it was based on, Marjane Satrapi’s life plays out in animated form. As a warning, it may underwhelm those expecting the bells and whistles of today’s modern animated pictures. Jack Matthews of the New York Daily Times calls the animation “Saturday-morning cartoon quality at best.” Despite this, Matthews also says that if the film were done differently, “it would distract from its marvel of a story.” The simplicity of style should not fool anyone into thinking that this is a children’s movie; her story has many shades of grey. Fellow film critic Roger Ebert comments on the style as well, calling it “deliberately two dimensional, avoiding the illusion of depth in current animation.“

Beginning in color and returning to black and white, Satrapi delves into her memories when she cannot board a plane to return to Iran. Satrapi’s story certainly calls for attention to detail. Part of a middle class family in Iran, Satrapi is fumbling with the heavier consequences of the revolution around her. Iran is soon plunged into war with Iraq and the gravity of reality sets in for Satrapi. Fearing for her safety, her parents send her to Austria for schooling and freedom from the oppressive regime. There she finds broken promises of a better life. She returns to her roots eventually, only to depart from it again in the end as more complications arise.

Though one can expect the graphic novels to be more in depth, the film captured the essential details of Satrapi’s story. She herself helped write the screenplay, keeping the adaption true to her memories. Dialogue was an integral part of the movie and was spoken with such earnest in emotion that you almost forget that the film is in French. Though for English speakers subtitles are required, it is tolerable to enjoy such a movie. This means however, that we are robbed of our other senses while focusing on the words. I did not notice any memorable instrumentals during the film until it was brought to my attention later. Then again, that adds some realism to the film – I don’t walk around to a full orchestra playing in the background.

The pacing of the film matched the circumstances of the story as it progressed, making it almost feel like two movies in one. The visual style of the film sets it apart from other animated movies. It lacks such colorful, 3-D characters like Shrek or the cute animals from Over The Hedge, both wildly popular (and heavily marketed) animated films. A more obscure film, it is not a movie that one would choose just for a few laughs. There are some parts that seem to inject comedy into the movie, but for the most part, it is a serious film, heavy with internal and external conflict.

Persepolis focuses heavily on characterization, especially that of Satrapi. Ebert writes that “it is infinitely more interesting than the witless coming-of-age Western girls we meet in animated films.” Faced with the notion of growing up, Satrapi’s pull from her own history gives her story a dynamic, grittily realistic feel, unlike many of today’s modern stories that focus more on laughs and superficial beauty of the characters. Still, like any ordinary person lost in their daydreams, we see her fantasizing, floating out in space lost in her thoughts, until she is shocked out of that state when bombs drop around her. Packaged in an initially deceiving fashion, Persepolis delivers a mature, engaging story of a misunderstood population.