Venus Rising

Film & BooksIssue: Pisces 08

Persepolis

Based on Marjane Satrapi's books, the film “Persepolis” tells the poignant story of young Marjane coming of age in Iran in the midst of the Islamic Revolution and the Iran/Iraq war. Like the books, her story of female strength comes to life in simple black and white drawings, artistically choreographed into motion on the screen.

It is clear from the beginning that little Marjane is strong-willed, confident, and independent. Her well-educated, left-leaning parents encourage her to be herself and her feminist Grandmother provides no-nonsense guidance throughout the film. Needless to say, the whole family suffers immensely under the new Islamic regime. Forced to wear a head scarf and endure the torture and deaths of family members and friends, Marjane cannot help but speak out to her teachers about the injustice.

Fearing for her safety, her parents send her to Vienna at the age of 13. There she experiences the exhilaration of freedom mixed with the loneliness of alienation in European society. After a sudden break-up with her first love, Marjane sinks quickly into despair and total isolation and reluctantly returns home to Tehran and her family.

“Persepolis” succeeds not only in warmly recounting Marjane’s dilemma between personal freedom and the comfort of home and family but also in bringing to life for westerners the political history of Iran through her personal stories. Conveyed simply through an immensely enjoyable and innovative form of animation, “Persepolis” is a charming story of strength and resilience in the black-and-white world of religious intolerance.

Now the French selection for Best Foreign Language Film at the upcoming Academy Awards, I highly suggest seeing “Persepolis” on the big screen. (Written and directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, in French, with English subtitles.)