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| Fig 1 |
Marjane Satrapi’s French-Iranian animated film “Persepolis” (2008) is an
autobiographical adventure of the director, from her youth to coming of age
during the Iranian Revolution. The film is also based off the graphic novel, of
the same name, by Satrapi.
The animation style is a beautifully simple and clean style
that immerses the viewer into its deep storytelling. Far from the evolution of
animated films becoming as realistic as possible, “Persepolis” embraces the 2D style and sticks closely to Satrapi’s
actual style of drawing her graphic novels. Roger Ebert explains that: “It might seem that her story is too large
for one 98-minute film, but "Persepolis" tells it carefully, lovingly
and with great style. It is infinitely more interesting than the witless
coming-of-age Western girls we meet in animated films; in spirit, in gumption,
in heart, Marjane resembles someone like the heroine is "Juno" -- not
that she is pregnant at 16, of course. While so many films about coming of age
involve manufactured dilemmas, here is one about a woman who indeed does come
of age, and magnificently.” (Ebert, 2008) Agreeing with this, “Persepolis” indeed tells the tale with
care; and although some scenes are happy whilst others are tragic, the style
keeps the viewer intrigued about what will happen next.
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| Fig 2 |
The first part of the film shows around the first 10 years
of Satrapi’s life, which is remembered as a blissful and carefree time. She
enjoys life surrounded by a loving family, remembering Bruce Lee as her idol,
her interests in fashion and love for pop music. However, as she grew older,
things started to change. Ebert explains: “She
and her mother and her feisty grandmother had to shroud their faces from the
view of men. Makeup and other forms of Western decadence were forbidden. At her
age, she didn't drink or smoke, but God save any women who did.” (Ebert,
2008) As the society she once knew was rapidly deteriorating, so was her rights
and freedom as a woman. She is almost arrested for wearing makeup, and so her
parents, knowing she will be a magnet to trouble, sends her to Vienna. At first,
she loves the freedom of Austria, but finds it difficult to live there in the
end, due to the drug use and casual sex that is popular among everyone. She
eventually returns to Iran, but it is nothing like she remembers. After many
events, Marji leaves the country permanently to avoid the Iranian authorities.
After her departure, Marji’s grandmother dies shortly after. In a final scene,
as Marji gets into a taxi, the driver asks where she is from and she says “Iran”,
remembering what her grandmother said about staying true to herself.
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| Fig 3 |
The film is successful in its storytelling and scenes that
flow into the next without being rushed, and keeps with the Iranian roots with
the accents, environments, and character outfits, and when the scenes change to
a different country, the environments and music change, as well as the
characters themselves.
Truly an emotional rollercoaster, the story that shows what
Marji has gone through would make the viewer feel sympathy, however it seems
she has grown into a strong and successful woman.
Bibliography
Ebert, R. (2008) rogerebert.com (Accessed on 23/03/2017) http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/persepolis-2008
Illustration List
Fig 1: (Accessed on 23/03/2017) http://www.arlyo.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/persepolis.jpg
Fig 2: (Accessed on 23/03/2017) http://cinanima.pt/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/010-persepolis-theredlist.jpg
Fig 3: (Accessed on 23/03/2017) http://mountainx.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Persepolis-03.jpg
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