Film Review: Persepolis

Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s story of growing during the Iranian revolution and ultimately moving to France. It’s very much a coming of age story, however the setting isn’t typical.

It’s set, for the most part, in Iran and it’s animated mostly in black and white. Based on a graphic novel of the same name it came out in France in May 2007 but were didn’t get it until now.

The film itself is pretty good, there are funny moments, like the music black market and the nude drawing. It’s set during a time where everyone was losing their personal liberties and many people were being imprisoned, often never to return.
The way the people in Iran were being treated was very much reminiscent of Nazi Germany, but the victims in this case were their own poeple. Persepolis however is a very personal story and politics isn’t at the forefront although it’s a very important aspect.

When Marjane’s home changes so much so can no longer be herself she is forced into exile in Austria and then ultimately France. As coming of age stories go, it’s very good and I enjoyed it. However because of the perspective it was quite a light story, despite the war going on around here and it didn’t explore the more interesting aspects. Worth seeing just for the different perspective.

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