Film Review: Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

What is a movie review doing in a book blog, you might ask? Well you see, I would reply conspiratorially, I cheated.

Persepolis – the graphic novel – was the topic of discussion in our recent Ladies Night Comic Club meeting, but procrastination various distractions and priorities got in the way of me reading it. Since the film is so close to the source material, I decided to check that out instead.

This is an autobiographical story about Marjane Satrapi’s coming of age during the Iranian Revolution. The  majority of the animation is in black and white, which gives the film a more universal appeal. The simplicity of the imagery manages to convey so much complexity and emotion. Often times as I watched it, I forgot when it takes place (1980s) and that it takes place in Iran – which was the author’s intent. It was easy to realize how alike we are and to wonder about the potential for such events to occur within our own cultures at any time. I recently walked away from The Handmaid’s Tale thinking that, while frightening, we are not quite there yet with some of the political and religious movements in North America. But, watching Persepolis made me realize just how close other nations are to that kind of dystopian future. And maybe we’re not so far away here either.

Marjane’s story begins with her as a rebellious child who wants to be a prophet and idolizes Bruce Lee. She is outspoken and throughout the story I often thought her rebellious moments would lead to her own punishment, like her Uncle Anouche who is imprisoned and later killed for his left-wing ideals. Undoubtedly, her greatest influence and my favourite character is Marjane’s grandmother, who provides moral guidance for Marjane and admonishes her when she forgets to stay true to herself or takes for granted the sacrifices others have made. Her parents are depicted in a quiet, subdued manner, but it is clear that their love, encouragement, comfort and support are also an important part of Marjane’s life. I loved the way they were always willing to stand behind her without questioning her or her mistakes, while her grandmother represented an unapologetic view that has no time for the indulgence of self-pity.

I expected Marjane’s life story to result in some sort of epic anarchistic moment where she firmly takes up the cause to fight the powers that be. Instead, we see a gentle coming of age story where Marjane goes through many of the trials and tribulations, loves and losses of any normal person – only, this life is set with the backdrop of war, political strife, revolution, repression, sacrifice and more. And then I realized the obvious: this film is the result of her life. This film is the moment of epic anarchy where she firmly takes up the cause. Only, she’s done it in such a way that nothing is forced on you. Nothing is preachy. It’s interesting to note that Persepolis was banned in many places, including Iran, of course, only to have the bans lifted (though with some restrictions still imposed in some places).