Review of Persepolis (2007) by A A — 07 Dec 2009

Persepolis is an incredibly unique movie. It is an animated story about Iran's political and social problems, namely their treatment of women. It follows a young girl throughout her life, and shows the many problems she encounters as she goes from living in Iran, to becoming acquainted with the western world. The animation is done in a very creative way, and jumps from the present to the past several times to depict events either in the history of Iran, or specific events in the girls life.

A problem I had early on with the movie is that it blames the western world for most of Iran's problems. If that's really how the Iranian people feel then fine, but I see a trend here with independent and foreign films blaming the worlds problems on America or its allies. So what did I do? I put my geo-political ideas away and just tried to see the movie for what it is. It was much more enjoyable that way. Whether it claims that the reason Iranians torture their prisoners is because the CIA taught them to, or that the reason the Iraq-Iran war lasted so long was because the west was profiting off of it, I tried to find the deeper meaning of the story. It also points to England as the reason Iran had a corruptible Shah in the first place... But, again, I just tried real hard to look past that. Easier said than done...

I can't say that this movie is completely anti-western, however. The one thing that the main family in the film is looking for is individual freedom. It depicts the lack of personal freedom among women in Iran without attacking the male gender specifically. I liked how moderate the movie was in that sense. Her father seemed to give her the best advice of anyone, and many of the other men portrayed in the film were just pawns of the government, which is a problem in itself. This movie didn't turn out to be too offensive, which is good because it makes a very important political statement pertaining to Iran.

Persepolis was made using very simple animations. However simple it was, the transitions and creativity of the story added a lot to the production value of this movie. It shows the girl slowly grow into a woman, and take a realistic spiral downwards upon reaching womanhood. She is quite a different thinker in her own culture, and just doesn't fit with the new one she finds herself in midway through the movie. All the artwork, framing and animation depicting these events were planned out and put together very nicely.

The voice acting, from what I could tell, is phenomenal. From the young little girl to the elder grandmother, they all performed beautifully. The movie is all in french. It always helps when the voice actors are speaking a different language. It's harder to tell when they are a little off, but I felt that they were all very believable.

I don't feel that the morals taught in this movie are wonderful, especially by her grandmother. However, they are just a different way of thinking than is traditional in Iran, and I think that's the point. The Iranian government wants every woman to think and act alike, yet this little girl has been influenced by some intellectual and rebellious people. It's no wonder she becomes what she is, and acts the way she does.

Overall this movie was very interesting to me. It is a different take on Iranian history. I enjoyed this movie, but had a couple issues with the overall message. The film was done in a very creative and unique way, but the story of this girl is a sad tale. It's a tale of love, and also a tale of loss. Yet, a lot is sacrificed for the sake of personal freedom, and the right to live according to the dictates of your own conscience. There is a glimmer of hope in this movie, and I think it's worth seeing just for that.