82 out of 83 people found the following review helpful:

Powerfully moving animation.

Meako from , 25th April, 2008

Persepolis is an animated tale about the life of an Iranian girl, Marjane, throughout the past few decades. The film begins with her sat at a French airport, preparing to return to her home, and she begins to review her life to that point. As the film flashes back to her childhood to begin the tale, the animation switches from colour to black and white, and simplifies to represent the very simple view by which a child sees the world. As the film follows her life story, the animation style becomes more complex, reflecting how our own perceptions are more complex as we age. The tale itself shows how the country of Iran went from be a free-thinking society, to the oppressive state it has become in the past decade, all through the internal political conflicts, and outside oppression and aggression. All of this is told from a personal point of view, focussing on how it affected Marjane'e life. When the film began, I didn't know what to make of it. The simple animation was nice, but seemed too simple in this age of photo-realism in animated movies. However it didn't take long for the story to connect, and the animated style all seemed to make sense. A greater degree of relaism would have pulled away, bizarrely, from the focus of the story. by keeping the images simple it allows you to absorb the well crafted life account without being distracted by glossy images. Sequences which are portrayed in silouette are the most effective images on screen, and convey the horror and forboding of the account. The film really feels like you are reading a personal journal of events through the ages, and without being too politically heavy it conveys well all the struggle a young girl had growing up as an Iranian. The film craftily layers some great moments of amusement, breaking the heavier moments, which give some scenes a kind of 'Peanuts for adults' style - usually by following a serious lesson with a quick witty scene in which the lesson learned is taken to the extreme. This clever style keeps the film from dwelling too much on the heavier aspects, and really makes Marjane seem more human. By the closure of the film you deeply care for her and her life. Powerfully moving animation.

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37 out of 58 people found the following review helpful:

persepolis

A Customer from Romford, 15th December, 2008

please be aware this is a cartoon, i rented this and i was not aware, and so was sent right back, so if you like cartoons

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18 out of 24 people found the following review helpful:

Baffled

Rence from , 6th November, 2008

I've rented this because of positive critic reviews, and I must say once again I'm disappointed. Autobiographical novel made into the comic, comic made into the movie... The film is not Iranian, it's French with some American voice-over for English version. It's not a secret that most actors who provided voices belong or support to socialist political movements. As film's graphic novelist and director herself.I'm afraid the film is full of that nonsense as well. Someone in other review said it's not preachy, political and it's realistic. Trust me it's anything but that. I was bored halfway through it, constant glorifying of revolution and communism in patronizing manner seemed to never end. If you want something really educational, exciting, eye-opening and informative learn about Iran's history and culture. Films like these to my opinion serve only one purpose - to drive people from natural depression to clinical depression in 95 minutes. Portraying Austrians as yodels with hairy armpits and English as evil two faced imperialist advocators doesn't help neither. There were some 'priceless' quotes that left me rather gobsmacked. Like saying that wine parties they used to have was the only moment they realized what the independence means. You would also learn about ducks made out of bread (and saliva) and how to keep breasts perky. Is that in some way supposed to be educational or interesting?!

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16 out of 18 people found the following review helpful:

Comes second to the graphic novel

futurefabric from from Surbiton, 20th August, 2008

Having read Satrapi's excellent graphic novel, I eagerly anticipated this film adaptation. Especially as I knew she played a strong role in its production/direction. I assumed I was going to absolutely love it, as I had the book, but I was disappointed.

Sure, the animation is absolutely excellent – strongly stylised in monochrome like the book, but with textured backdrops, and the visual storytelling is just as adept as the original work, but what let the film down for me was the character voicing/acting and the soundtrack.

The cast includes Sean Penn, Iggy Pop and Catherine DeNeuve, so you'd hope for reasonably strong performances, but all of the characters sound so monotone and flat, lacking the life you give them in the book. This is not helped by the empty soundtrack - it all sounds a bit hollow – the actors sound rushed and almost, dare I say it, bored.

Similarly disappointing is the lacking sense of menace and forboding that is present in the novel. The sense of oppression is lost – Iran is portrayed in a whimsical and fantastical way, devoid of the atmosphere found in the book.

That said, the latter half of the film when Marjane returns to Tehran feels much more on message.

I would still recommend watching this film, but given the choice between this and the graphic novel, I'd root for the book every time.

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Excellent! Definitely worth a watch.

kal88 from , 20th March, 2010

I had already seen this at the cinema and rented it because I had to see it again. The film is beautifully done with a perfect balance of humour and sadness, and the way it switches between colour in the present and monochrome in the past is a great touch. It is a film that really leaves you thinking afterwards. For people who are learning French, this is a brilliant film to watch as the language is not too complicated and you may find that you do not even need subtitles.

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Great start-wobbly middle- Visual Achievement

earlkegga from , 16th March, 2010

Visually this film has beauty in abundance. The first hour is really the meat of the film, with abstract imagery flowing into simple well crafted narrative all at an enjoyable pace. However after the first major shift in story i think it loses its way slightly, dwelling too much on the girls travels away from Iran and losing its original theme. Im sure the film makers would argue that this only serves to strengthen her feeling of alienation and longing to return home but i felt it could have been about 10mins shorter. When she returns to Iran things pick up again but still there is a sense that we were all away too long. Definitely worth watching. Especially if your a graphic novel fan as the transition from page to screen has seldom been achieved to such high standards

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Surprisingly good

Mapa from , 13th March, 2010

Animated films are not my favourite, but my son suggested we watched this and it was a good idea. The combination of drawings and script works really well. I am glad they turned the original book into a film.

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History in cartoon

Boz2010 from , 23rd February, 2010

Great film for children and adults alike, teaching you the troubles of Iran. This film was recommended to me by Amnesty International, glad i watched it!

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