Arts
Oscar Nominee Animation: Persepolis
Persepolis
War. Revolution. Family. Punk Rock. All Part of Growing Up. Winner of a Special Jury Prize at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, Persepolis is a animated film based on Marjane Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel of the same name. The film was written and directed by Satrapi with Vincent Paronnaud. The story follows a young girl as she comes of age against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, which goes horribly wrong with Islamic fundamentalists taking power and creating a new theocratic tyranny themselves; the story ends with Marjane as a 21-year-old expatriate. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Translated into 18 languages and with 1.5 million copies sold, Oscar Nominee Persepolis is the poignant story of a young girl coming-of-age in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. Marjane (voiced by Chiara Mastroianni) is an innocent nine-year-old living in Iran, surrounded by a loving but incredibly protective mother (voiced by Catherine Deneuve) and father (voiced by Simon Abkarian). It is through the eyes of precocious and outspoken nine year old Marjane that we see a people’s hopes dashed as fundamentalists take power - forcing the veil on women and imprisoning thousands. Clever and fearless, she outsmarts the “social guardians” and discovers punk, ABBA and Iron Maiden. Yet when her uncle is senselessly executed and as bombs fall around Tehran in the Iran/Iraq war, the daily fear that permeates life in Iran is palpable.
As she gets older, Marjane’s boldness causes her parents to worry over her continued safety. And so, at age fourteen, they make the difficult decision to send her to school in Austria. Vulnerable and alone in a strange land, she endures the typical ordeals of a teenager. In addition, Marjane has to combat being equated with the religious fundamentalism and extremism she fled her country to escape. Over time, she gains acceptance, and even experiences love, but after high school she finds herself alone and horribly homesick.
For more information about the Persepolis visit sonyclassics.com
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