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Title: Persepolis
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I want to start this review by saying all cartoonists should see “Persepolis.” And not just because of it’s great story and character development, but because of the art. This is a movie that looks and feels like a living, breathing comic strip. The character designs and background are simple, yet effective. Most of the movie is in black and white, so it looks like a newspaper. The animation palate is so effective and nostalgic, that it seems to capture a time where art was art, and cartoonists can study this film and feel inspired to do in their newspapers what this film does for movies. In all honesty, the animation isn’t so much complicated as it is effective, and that’s what makes “Persepolis” a movie for people who love movies. The movie revolves around an Iran woman, Marjane Satrapi, who thinks back to her life when she was a young girl, living in Iran.
Though the present time is presented in color, the past is in black and white, giving off that nostalgic feel I talked about earlier. She remembers a time when people in Iran were free. Or at least, more free then they are today. The promise of a revolution says that tearing down the old government and building a new one will save Iran, yet we all know how that turns out. Under the new government establishment, a shift in ideas starts to take place. Music is outlawed. So’s alkyl. Most noteworthy is that women have to start covering their heads, and the men seem to gain new freedoms as the women slowly start to lose their freedom. And if you’re wondering whether this is a political movie, you’d have me stumped. I mean, it seems like it should be a political movie, but it doesn’t feel like one.
Instead, “Persepolis” feels like a film built on memories of a better time. No one is really to blame for the current state of affairs, that’s just how the dominos fell. Living in France gives Marjane a taste of freedom she hasn’t had in years. Then she proceeds to do stuff that she couldn’t possibly get away with in Iran, things that may seem questionable on the outside, but living under years of oppression will do that to a person. Though a lot has been made of the black and white technique, the politics, and the fact that it’s subtitled, I hope “Persepolis” is a movie remembered for it’s moving story and lush visuals. Far too many political films get bogged down in politics, and they forget that movies are best remembered when the audience gets to live someone else’s life for two hours.
Good and bad. “Persepolis” has much bad in it, but there is also good things in it. Marjane suffers from oppression, but she also experiences love, a good family, and a sense of freedom. Iran may suppress her rights, but they can’t suppress her soul. The movie is not a cry to end war, or solve world hunger, but simply a plea to see everyone as humans. It’s also a call to not let life get you down, and it portrays it so beautifully, that I wonder whether any other studio could have made it. Most likely not. “Persepolis” was denied a chance to be nominated for Best Foreign Language film by the Academy but did receive a Best Animated Feature Film nomination. It lost (understandably) to Pixar’s “Ratatouille.” Well, gold or no gold, this is a movie I’m likely to remember for years to come.
- -Review By Kevin T. Rodriguez- -