| DVD: Persepolis * Official Site | On DVD: June 24, 2008 |
| Runtime: 95 minutes | Directed by: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi |
| MPAA Rating: PG-13 for mature thematic material including violent images, sexual references, language and brief drug content. |  Gecko Rating: |
I didn’t really like this quirky little movie the first time I saw it, but it grew on me over time. I saw it with a couple of film aficionado friends, and we all left the theater going, what the heck was that? But the more I thought about the socio-political issues of the film, the more I liked and appreciated it.
Based on a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi (the main character), the story is told in stark, black-and-white animated form. It takes place in 1970s Iran, and young Marjane (voiced as a child by Gabrielle Lopes) watches the events of the Shah’s defeat during the Iranian Revolution of 1979.
More after the jump…
As Marj gets older (voiced as a teen and woman by Chiara Mastroianni), she witnesses how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, becomes a repressive tyranny on its own. And she’s not willing to stand by and watch it happen. Because of this, her parents send her away to Vienna to study for a better life.
But the cultural differences there prove challenging, and Marj falls in with some radical characters. She returns home, only to find that her homeland has changed, leaving her to wonder where she truly belongs.
If you’re into offbeat movies with a message, then you might like this one. Like I said, it grew on me after I left the theater, but it’s not what I’d call a feel-good movie. It’s pretty heavy stuff, which makes the animated form even more interesting.
DVD Extras: Original French version and English language version featuring the voices of Chiara Mastroianni, Sean Penn, Catherine Deneuve, Gena Rowlands, and Iggy Pop; The Hidden Side of Persepolis; Behind the Scenes of Persepolis; 2007 Cannes Film Festival Press Conference; Animated Scene Comparisons with Commentary by Marjane Satrapi; Commentary on select scenes by Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud, and Chiara Mastroianni.
Trailer:
Images: Persepolis, Sony Pictures Classics, 2007
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