= 4 stars

Starring Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Denueve, Danielle Darrieux
Directed by Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi

Synopsis

Autobiographical animated film about the life of an outspoken Iranian girl, Marjane, who comes of age during the Islamic revolution.

The Good

• Remarkably true to the graphic novels Persepolis 1, and Persepolis 2 in style, spirit, and plot.
• The book’s simplistic artwork is animated in the right ways, adding depth while retaining the childlike, cartoony nature.
• It’s a decent history lesson on Iran, a country whose history is woefully unfamiliar to many westerners.

The Bad

• Covering two book’s worth of material, the film feels rushed and is nearly overwhelming at times. Its ending arrives almost too suddenly.
• Some of the characters were given much smaller roles, namely Marjane’s mother, Eve, and her Iranian husband.

Conclusion

The decision to meld both graphic novels into one film is the only thing I can really fault the film for. But it does everything else right, and there’s a nice contrast between cartoony, childlike artwork and their all-too-real experiences - after all this is an autobiography.

There’s also an interesting juxtaposition between typical “coming of age” events (adolescent first loves, independence from family) and large, epic political events which adds a gravity to balance out the levity. Thumbs up from me.

IMDB: Persepolis
Wikipedia: Persepolis
Rotten Tomatoes: Persepolis 95%

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