Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Movie of the Month - Persepolis

Most autobiographies are never this clever. Most bio-films are never this good. Persepolis is the 2007 animated bio picture based on the graphic novel and autobiography of Marjane Satrapi. Marjane's saga is told in such a way that will leave you in awe. The story of Satrapi is one of power and defiance. A controversial coming of age story set against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, about a girl finding herself wanting Western culture while questioning her strict religion. As a teenager Satrapi was a misfit, refusing to wear typical Muslim attire for women and embracing heavy metal, punk rock and Michael Jackson. Profoundly disillusioned, Satrapi rejects her religious aspirations before God and tries with her family to fit into the reality of the intolerant regime that has suppressed its people of many luxuries and what we take for granted. We see Satrapi leave Iran for school in Europe where she encounters boys, sexuality and drugs and finding her place in the world. The film is told in French, Persian and English and showcases the world around us. Nominated in 2008 for Best Animated Film at the Academy Awards and the winner of 2007 Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival, Persepolis is a film that will find the inner misfit and punk and all of us.