Persian Perfection

Persepolis is a wonderful animated tale which manages to convey complex messages about political ideologies and blend them with the trials of adolescence to create an engaging and fantastic film.

Through the eyes of a young Marjane Satrapi, we see the changing face of Iran during the Islamic revolution as she reaches adulthood.

Growing up as a little girl is very similar to how it would be for every western teenager; she discovers ABBA and Iron Maiden, and adjusts to fashions and trends as every little girl and teenager does – wearing make up for the first time and trying to fit in with her peers. This all changes with the Shah's rule which requires girls to wear head-scarves and cover up. As the eight-year war with Iraq progresses, the regime tightens and the war consumes over 1 million lives. Some of her more outspoken family members and imprisoned and she and her family live under constant oppression.

Stark black and white animation, like the graphic novels on which this film is based, in a world of pixar-dominated 3D animation may seem like a step backwards. Nothing could be further from the truth - the simple animation is in contrast to the issues that are dealt with on screen, completely accessible to any audience and enables us to place our own emphasis on the narrative which is the film's beauty.

This movie allows us as a Western audience to see things of which we might not have been aware. I personally had no idea what Iran was like in the 70s and 80s and it actually seemed strange to me to think that it was actually fairly similar to our own culture. Certain things are definitely universal – a group of children's open condemnation of a another child simply because his father happens to work for the Shah reminds us that children's quick judgement about subjects of which they have limited knowledge are the same no matter where you grow up. It does this all with a wry humour; Marjane's buying music tapes from the black market is amusing as are her conversations with her spirited Grandmother (“The first marriage is just practice for the second one”.)