The ancient city of Persepolis was once the gleaming capital of Persia. An extensive city comprised of colossal buildings, breathtaking palaces, and a bustling, enlightened populace, Persepolis was plundered and razed to the ground by Alexander the Great in 330 BC. The pride of Persian kings was forever wiped from the map. As invoked by writer/co-director Marjane Satrapi, Persepolis is a powerful and haunting metaphor for modern Persia’s decline and fall.
Based on her beloved graphic novels, Persepolis is the true story of Satrapi who was only six when the Islamic Revolution deposed the reviled Shah of Iran. Marjane’s father, a progressive Marxist, was at first overjoyed but soon watched in horror as fundamentalists took over the government, imposing a malevolent totalitarian regime. Marjane, an intelligent and outspoken child, finds her life and her country turned upside down, especially when neighboring Iraq drags Iran into a devastating war.
Marjane’s intellectual parents briefly consider fleeing to the United States but come to the conclusion that the price would be too high. Instead, they do their best to create an oasis of freedom within the walls of their house. Iron Maiden and Michael Jackson become hallowed symbols of freedom as they struggle to educate their headstrong daughter. Eventually Marjane’s rebellious streak and her penchant for questioning authority puts her life in danger and she is bundled off to Europe. For all intents and purposes an orphan, the now teenaged Marjane falls into destitution and abject loneliness, trading a life of affection in the midst of prison for life-numbing isolation in the midst of autonomy.
Powerfully understated, Satrapi cleverly use comic book style animation — still considered by many to be a children’s genre — to make the unthinkable indelibly recognizable. Her style is minimalist, yet stark black-and-white has never looked so vibrant or colorful. As technically dazzling as Ratatouille is, the hypnotic Persepolis should (but won’t) win the Academy Award for Best Animated Film.
Satrapi maintains her graphic novels’ episodic feel, though with the necessary constraints imposed by film, the compressed timeline often feels rushed and loses something of the sense of intimacy created within the pages. If the film has a fault, it is our difficulty in relating to Marjane as a young woman. The fire and irresistibility of her youth gives way to a morose, zombie-like sullenness that forces us to cast our memories back to better times in order to prove that she is a character we do, in fact, care deeply about.
Some may be tempted to think that Persepolis ends with ambiguity and melancholy. Yet that is not the case. Still in her late thirties, the real Marjane Satrapi’s story is far from over. Persepolis represents but the first of a series of acts in this fascinating life. If we are lucky enough, she will continue to share it with us.
Persepolis is a timeless and timely story. If ever Americans needed to see Iran with a human face, it is now. Despite the grimness of its subject matter, Persepolis is a relentlessly charming, persistently amusing tale about patriotism, familial love and the need to carry on, even in the face of madness and absurdity.
© Copyright 2008 Brandon Fibbs. All rights reserved.
