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.
Persepolis (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:130
Fresh:125
Rotten:5
Average Rating:8.2/10
Consensus: Persepolis is an emotionally powerful, dramatically enthralling autobiographical gem, and the film's simple black-and-white images are effective and bold.
Rated: 12A [See Full Rating] for mature thematic material including violent images, sexual references, language and brief drug content.
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:25-04-2008
Synopsis: NEW YORK PREMIERE AT NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL 2007 (Limited) PERSEPOLIS presents a deeply personal coming-of-age tale about finding one's place in the world. Based on her bestselling graphic... NEW YORK PREMIERE AT NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL 2007 (Limited) PERSEPOLIS presents a deeply personal coming-of-age tale about finding one's place in the world. Based on her bestselling graphic novel, Marjane Satrapi teamed up with underground comic book artist Vincent Paronnaud to co-direct this animated big screen adaptation. The result is an electrifying, heartfelt, and original portrait of a spunky girl who surmounts countless obstacles to grow into a wise young adult. Marjane (voiced by Chiara Mastroianni) is an innocent nine-year-old living in Iran, surrounded by a loving but incredibly protective mother (Catherine Deneuve) and father (Simon Abkarian). She finds comfort in the carefree spirit of her loving grandmother (Danielle Darrieux), as well as music by artists as diverse as ABBA and Iron Maiden. When Marjane's uncle is killed in the Iran/Iraq war, her parents send her to school in Austria, where she can study in safety. The only trouble is that her Middle Eastern appearance frightens people, giving her a harsh lesson in racial prejudice. Somehow, Marjane's fiery spirit doesn't succumb to any of the negativity. Eventually, she returns home to Iran to be closer with her family. But even though she settles into married life, the tyrannical pressures of Iranian society force her to abandon her country once again, sending her to France on another journey. Satrapi and Paronnaud retain the stark, spare animated style of the graphic novels that inspired the film. This is a wise decision: the less specific they get in their visual presentation, the more universal their story becomes. PERSEPOLIS gives viewers several movies in one. It is equal parts coming-of-age story, history lesson, and an animated adventure tale. [More]
Starring: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Simon Abkarian
Starring: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Simon Abkarian, Gabrielle Lopes, François Jerosme, Sean Penn, Iggy Pop, Gena Rowlands
Director: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Director: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Screenwriter: Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
Producer: Marc-Antoine Robert, Xavier Rigault
Composer: Olivier Bernet
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Reviews for Persepolis
This French-speaking Iranian cartoon clan is one of the most relatable families I've seen onscreen in ages.
Has a simple, pleasant charm of a character trying to adjust like a kid on the first day of school, though it's ultimately too episodic to escape that appearance of simplicity.
There is no question that the animation style of this French production is unlike anything we've ever seen before...
Persepolis may be a crudely drawn, two-dimensional cartoon, but it packs more genuine emotion than plenty of live-action dramas.
At once traditional and forward-looking, gracious and intuitive, her grandmother provides the eternal child Marjane with a model of generosity and good sense amid the tumult of life.
Sensitive and stylized, it's an often comic, yet heartbreaking, outspoken portrait of a young girl and a nation in turmoil.
It's The 400 Blows viewed from behind a veil and drawn with a graceful, ironic black-and-white pen.
Persepolis is a poignant tale, powerfully told through the simplest of means, that should resonate with viewers of all backgrounds.
With the political message of Persepolis considerably softened, the overall effect is dulled significantly.
Done primarily in simple black and white animation Persepolis's elegance lay in this simplicity combined with the deft complexity of [Marjane] Satrapi's very moving story.
With its simple but elegant (if not always ideally expressive) images (almost entirely in black-and-white) and its deadpan, self-deprecating tone of spunkiness in the face of woe, Persepolis is an agreeably accessible.
It is, as much as anything else, an expression of a personality, an insistence that the singular voice of a single heart has meaning and can speak meaningfully across cultural boundaries both real and created.
The film is mostly in black-and-white, and in a style that draws as much from Charlie Brown as from the style of the novel or the legacy of the German Expressionists.
...a magical animation, one that presents a universal coming of age story within exotic locales with the simplicity and whimsy of folk art.
Named for the ancient capital of what was one called Persia, Satrapi's story is also a timely and deeply personal glimpse of life in Iran before, during and after the 1979 revolution that ended the reign of the Shah and ushered in a new era.
The two main points Persepolis makes are that strife is relative, and all politics are personal.
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