“Persepolis” is an animated French film in which a young, Iranian woman struggles with the shifting state of her identity. Adapted from the autobiographical, two-part graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, “Persepolis” (named after the ruins of the Persian Empire) follows Marjane’s (Chiara Mastroianni) impressionable childhood, teenage rebellion, and conflicted adult life during some of the worst times in modern Iran.
Animated in black and white, such events as the Iranian revolution and the Iraqi invasion add deep emotional impact to the movie. The story begins in 1978, when demonstrations against the Shah worsened to the point of violence. Uncle Anoush, a socialist once exiled to the Soviet Union, teaches Marjane the historical background of modern Iran. After years of rebelling as a teenager, her parents send her to France for her own safety, and she encounters 1980s nihilism. All the while, her worried parents (Catherine Devenue and Simon Abkarian) and grandmother (Danielle Darrieux) deal with the social changes under the hegemonic rule of the new Islamic republic.
This movie was protested and banned by the government of Iran for presenting “an unrealistic face of the achievements and results of the glorious Islamic Revolution in some parts.”
If “Persepolis” presents anything of that sort, it is only because the film strives to be honest about its own perspective. The film version of Afghan novelist Khaled Hosseini’s “Kite Runner” was attacked in the same way, only with the film’s “rape scene” used as an excuse. Satrapi, who co-wrote and co-directed the film with Vincent Paronnaud, is a responsible storyteller that not only expresses the faults in her home country, but her own flaws as well. However foreign the story may turn out, she is able to make it relatable.
Perhaps the best parts of the movie involve Danielle Darrieux, whose portrayal of Marjane’s grandmother can be both tender and authoritative. The interaction between Devenue and Mastroianni is incredibly believable, primarily because Devenue is her actual mother. The animation is simplistic, yet beautiful, with musical segues ranging from Iron Maiden to Survivor. “Perspolis” is an engaging drama about society and the individual, amounting to a Black-and-White feature with deeper colors than most films today.
All images © www.imdb.com
No comments:
Post a Comment