Persepolis (2007)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Directors:

Vincent Paronnaud
Marjane Satrapi

Writers:

Marjane Satrapi (comic)
Vincent Paronnaud (scenario)

Release Date:

27 June 2007 (France)

Genre:

Animation | Biography | Drama | War

Plot:

Poignant coming-of-age story of a precocious and outspoken young Iranian girl that begins during the Islamic Revolution.

Plot Keywords:

Revolution | Iran | 1970s | Shah | Coming Of Age

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 15 wins & 25 nominations

Cast

Chiara Mastroianni	...	Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi, as a teenager and a woman (voice)
Catherine Deneuve	...	Mrs. Satrapi - Marjane's mother (voice)
Danielle Darrieux	...	Marjane's grandmother (voice)
Simon Abkarian	...	Mr. Satrapi - Marjane's father (voice)
Gabrielle Lopes Benites	...	Marjane as a child (voice)
François Jerosme	...	Uncle Anouche (voice)
Sophie Arthuys	...	(voice)
Jean-François Gallotte
Arié Elmaleh	...	(voice)
Mathias Mlekuz	...	(voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stéphane Foenkinos
Amethyste Frezignac	...	Marjane as a child (voice: English version)
Tilly Mandelbrot	...	Lali (voice)
Sean Penn	...	Mr. Satrapi - Marjane's father (voice: English version)
Iggy Pop	...	Uncle Anouche (voice: English version)
Gena Rowlands	...	Marjane's grandmother (voice: English version)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material including violent images, sexual references, language and brief drug content.

Runtime:

96 min | Turkey:89 min (TV version)

Country:

France | USA

Language:

French | English | Persian | German

Colour:

Black and White | Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | France:U | USA:PG-13 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-11 | Sweden:7 | Singapore:PG | Brazil:12 | Ireland:12A | Netherlands:6 | Taiwan:R-12 | UK:12A (2008) | Germany:12 | Argentina:Atp | South Korea:12 | Australia:M

Company:

2.4.7. Films

Trivia:

Iran's government sent a letter to the French embassy in Tehran to protest against the movie and pressured the organizers of the 2007 Bangkok Film Festival to drop it from the lineup.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The departures board at Paris Orly at the beginning has Cincinnati misspelled as "Cincinatti".

Quotes:

[first lines]
Airport receptionist: Ticket and passport, please.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Eye of the Tiger

Not your average animated feature...

...in fact, there is nothing average about this film. Traditionally animated in black and white flashbacks, it tells the story of a French-speaking woman's childhood and young adulthood in Tehran, Iran, and in Vienna during the 1980s and '90s.

Marjane Satrapi grew up in a family of revolutionaries against the Shah's regime and the Islamic government that subsequently took hold, and the film literally illustrates her feelings and thought processes as a little girl, following her as the government control in Iran got more and more strict. When her parents insist she leave the country, we also see her struggling to deal with adolescence and missing her beloved family; when she returns, she is also coping with the increasing repression of her freedoms as a woman. Most of all, you see her own personal conflict as she tries to stay true to herself.

This movie beautifully balances both the historic and personal issues and pulls the threads together into a compelling narrative, made a bit quirky by the style of presentation, resulting in work that is altogether touching. Along with intelligence and humor, a deep and strong sense of truth infuses every part of this film, making it even stronger. One of my only qualms was the feeling that it ended somewhat abruptly without much of a conclusion.

Overall, though, it was fantastic - definitely worth watching.