Based on the eponymous best-selling graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, “Persepolis” tells the life story of Marjie as she and her family live through the 1978 revolution, the Iran-Iraq War and the increasingly tight grip of religious fanaticism. It won a jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival and has since invoked the fury of the Iranian government. Like Satrapi’s black and white illustrations, the film sheds light on a time and place enshrouded in darkness. “What does it mean to be Iranian anyway?” Marjie wonders at one point.
With refreshing candor, the film presents the singular view of an Iranian woman whose intellectual, left-leaning upbringing predisposes her to clash with a rapidly evolving society at home yet leaves her at odds with European life. But that doesn’t mean it’s a highbrow film that takes itself too seriously. There’s blood on the streets but tenderness at home, political revolution and personal rebellion and no shortage of caustic humor or swearing grannies. Above all, it’s a moving introduction to Iranian savoir-vivre in the face of religious extremism, told through the experiences of brash and outspoken young woman.
