Review of Persepolis (2007) by Smijatov — 18 Aug 2010

Visually beautiful, especially with the use of the white and black, 'Persepolis' achieves what many animated films lately have lacked: to give us some actual knowledge about something happening in the world. As beautiful as 'Up' and 'Toy Story 3' may be, they do not teach us about the world things we haven't known before. 'Persepolis' gives us a tangible example of the diversity of cultures, ways of thinking and acting and how someone may be found to be living in the wrong place.

I do not believe that this is an anti-Iranian film, after all, one of the "takeaway points" of the film is to be proud of who you are - which the director/author clearly is, and she makes it a point of pride. However, politics in Iran are definitely under attack here - but why not? Just because it is an animated film does not mean it cannot contain messages: clearly, what was happening in Iran at the time of the Islamic Revolution was not right, irrelevant of whether one believes it is 'anti-Iranian' to think that way or not. And, I think, most importantly, it shows to world-audiences (and especially US audiences) that Iran has also people who are like themselves, just that one cannot express it openly, and that Iran used to be quite a "normal" place before the revolution - not unlike Europe or anywhere else in the 'developed' world.

Definitely, it is a highly recommendable film for its artistry and its heart-wrenching story.