Persepolis

This film leaves an impression. I did not read the graphic novels, so I cannot speak to the film's alignment with it's source material however I found the animation to offer some levity in a story rife with complexity, death, sadness, and loneliness. The film feels a bit yay the West! which I do not think was Satrapi's intention and the financial situation of Satrapi's family is never overly revealed. How they were able to support her financially and through access with a visa to be able to leave Iran and spend so much time abroad is never discussed. In many ways it feels like the audience is the West with its brief Iran history lesson for dummies. Would love to see more examples of complex stories like this.

Persepolis was fascinating to watch, analyze, and enjoy. The first time watching was more about understanding, while the second was exploring the features of the film. The movie’s main character, Marjane Satrapi, was relatable. Although she was relatable, there were aspects that I liked learning about her. The characteristics that I found myself identifying with were her stubbornness, determination, and devotion to her family. One of the things that I could not personally relate to was living in an era and place where there was tyrannical rain over a country. I was also interested in her interpersonal life and the connections that she had outside her family. Marjan lived during the Iranian Revolution with her family, that included her parents and her grandmother. The beginning of the movie, it showed Marjan on the plane, dissociating into a situation of her as a young child. Throughout the film, it showed her discussing with God about the troubles that happened to her family, like, the imprisonment of her uncle that led to his death. The film did an excellent job showing the Tyrannical system of Shah that Iran was under and displaying how it affected its' people, specifically, individuals like Marjane and her family. Her family depicted the hardships that could happen under such pressure and the community around them. Those hardships included but were not limited to death, loss of a home, food insecurity, and mental and physical strain. Not only was her family given false hope, but all the families were that lusted for freedom under such “dictatorship.” The conditions continued to worsen under Shah’s control, and families were being hurt and stripped of their confidence in their country. In the film it is evident that she was distressed in certain situations, even in her home. For example, when she’s sent to Vienne, she felt lost without her family and is home-sick because no one understands her. The animations and the realistic approaches the film used for the movie was unfamiliar personally but enjoyable. They realistically showed from the history books of the Tyrannical reign of Iran from the 1970s to the 1990s. The movie brought to life what the history books recorded from the events featured in Marjan’s family and community. I would not usually watch an animated movie, but the story and historical background greatly appealed me. Also, the animation used what live-action movies do, which helped bring the story together and made the experience of watching it a positive one. They used different sceneries for different parts of the film and even letting the cartoon characters display facial expressions and movements to go along with the narration among the characters. With the realistic display of Marjane, her family, and her emotions I observed the simplicity of the film while also observing complexity of the work that the movie crew did to create the ties of the story line. In doing so, they were able to show the raw emotions of every character and scenario that happened. It was simple in the sense of getting the overall mood of the film and what could be perceived of the sum of all the conflict. The complexity of the film was trying to connect relationships and the emotions that were meant to be seen. Persepolis was pleasurable to watch and analyze. This experience has led me to discover that animated movies can be about real-life issues that have and are happening in our world! I found out that animation can bring history to life, but also given the chance put myself in another person’s shoes. Many upper-class and middle-class families would never fear for their lives of something so dangerous controlling their lives. Marjan and her family fought for their lives to be free and to seek change in their country. Suppose individuals could put themselves in their shoes; perhaps, in that case, we could see the differences and be thankful for the protection and safety we have in our country. Many people in America take what they love for granted, unlike the situations that happened in the film where families in Iran were under constant stress to keep their families and homes safe from foreign control and torture. Again, the film was fascinating to watch and analyze because of the differences and similarities.

Persepolis is a very unique film which is hard to properly describe. While the official synopsis says it's about the director's experience growing up in war-torn Iran, that's only half true. As a whole, the film is about her entire childhood and early adult life, and how the political climate in her native home effected her life even after she left the country. Because of this setup, the film goes beyond just talking about war and it's effects, but also dives deeper into the human condition, and other struggles people go through even in more stable parts of the world, such as depression, love troubles, and culture wars. As far as messaging goes, the film has a pretty positive takeaway, focusing on staying true to yourself and not letting what people think about you change who you are. There is a lot of talk about politics but for the most part the film never really tries to sell the audience on any ideology, rather just uses it to explain why certain characters interact the way they do. There are some good role models in the film, Marjane's parents and family are shown to be genuinely caring and just wanting what's best for her, especially in the early parts of the film when she's still a child. Marjane herself is not written as being an idealized or incredible person, despite her having the opportunity to do so. She chose to acknowledge her own character flaws, which while not immediately connected to the story itself, is a good attitude to have. Violence is not especially intense or frequent, but the concepts and images presented are pretty grisly. While more typical war violence is shown from a distance, (tanks, anti air guns, etc) more brutal or reprehensible acts of violence, like police firing on and killing protestors, bombings killing civilians, and even blindfolded "Martyrs" being forced to run into minefields are given focus. Young Marjane is portrayed as having a problem with aggression, hurting or trying to hurt other kids on a few occasions. While not visually violent, tragic concepts such as death due to illness also make appearances, and the film's tone can become very dark at times. Language is very frequent, with words like "B****rd, S**t, D**m, and other insults being spoken almost every other line in some scenes. There is a single usage of the F word. Sex is talked about pretty frequently, but very little physical intimacy is depicted. In one scene a naked couple is shown in bed, with no privates shown, one character frequently makes crass sexual jokes pertaining to the size of men's privates. Sex is implied off-screen, and the concept of rape is brought up on a couple of occasions. Drinking and smoking are both depicted on multiple occasions, including some usage of Marijuana. One character attempts suicide by overdosing on medication.

I have read the book and seen the film. Bring the tissue box also.

Persepolis is certainly not a film for immature teenagers. If you have a phobia of vomiting or blood, steer clear of this movie. Because war is a prevalent theme in Satrapi's life, many figures are depicted killed, one with a pool of blood around it. Satrapi projectile vomits in a scene where she reads her ex-boyfriend's play and coughs up blood. Two instances of the f-word.