Persepolis (2008)

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I liked how the story went with a girl who came out of a war country such as Iran to experience the world around her. It is hard when you see world wars around you and being picked on for not behaving what a typical Muslim woman should do. It does make me feel really sad that its still going on where a Muslim woman doesn't have rights for herself whereas the husband controls everything. With Marjane, she knew well that her marriage wasn't going to work but at least, she had family support and continued with the divorce. I really like her character, she just is really brave and very quirky to be living as a Muslim independent woman. If only some Muslim girls had the opportunity to be free and get out there to experience the world around them. It would be great if every man, woman and child to be able to have rights in all countries and all religons. Its just too bad that some countries don't have womens or any rights at all. We certainly do live in a sad world of hatred, harmful and stupidity!I really like how this movie is done and I certainly give this a 9/10!

Persepolis is a wonderful tale about a young girl's journey from childhood spent in war-torn Iran to adulthood. The main character is strong, one that the audience can sympathise with, and fairly intelligent. The history of the Iran-Iraq war is told with such sincerity and emotion. It's explained with lyrical and poetic clarity in a way that the audience can emotionally connect to and understand. The narrations by Marjane, her father, and several other people in the life of Marjane do not sound like boring history lectures, but insightful and captivating accounts of destruction, hatred, terror, injustice, and the likes. The film touches on many controversial issues such as women's rights in traditional Islamic countries, war, torture, and corruption. It is very well adapted, entertaining, and incredibly refreshing. I particularly appreciated the colour switching, which many have called pretentious. However, I think it suits the film very well and serves a wonderfully artistic purpose.Persepolis is a great film for women, a great film for men, for those who have suffered, for those who want to understand suffering, for those who appreciate good animated films, for those who like politically charged dramas with a heart and a mind, and for anyone who can appreciate a great film as rare as this one.

Without a doubt one of my favorite films of all time. The first time I ran into Persepolis I had absolutely no idea what the film was or what it might be about, just sat down in a small town foreign film festival and started watching, and i was not disappointed to spend my time learning the story of Marjan. The film is remarkably entertaining and incredibly easy to relate to despite the difference of decades and thousands of miles dividing my childhood from Marjan's. Persepolis is basically a story of a child's journey to adulthood set against the backdrop of civil unrest in Iran and learning to find one's self in the midst of social change.From losing a loved one, finding, losing, and finding faith again, and ultimately learning who you are versus what everyone sees,there are many more lessons to be learned from Persepolis than just surviving war and oppression. Having read the comics after watching the film I can say that after re watching the film It does stay true to the comic books, which as an avid comic book fan is something incredibly important to me. Persepolis is a definite must see for anyone coming out of adolescence or anyone wanting to reflect on their childhood or see it from a different point of view.

If you want to see light at the horizon of the adult cartoon world, Iranian born Marjane Satrapi's animated autobiographical feature "Persepolis" should be one of your first stops. The daughter of a wealthy progressive family in Tehran, expatriate Satrapi recounts her coming-of-age tale, beginning with her childhood days growing up under the western orientated Shah, then witnessing revolution, the subsequent repression of the totalitarian regime, war, followed by her on-and-off escape from her homeland. Satrapi doesn't tell you what to think of her story, she just relays her confusing impressions as a young girl and the outlook on life that goes with it, all brought to the screen via the perfect medium for such a purpose: animation. The fascinating, primarily monochrome look adds realism and weight to the portrayed subject matter, counterbalanced with a lot of charm and humor working splendidly against the dire circumstances that abound. The animation approach also helps to maintain a strong bond with the protagonist through all the stages of the young developing life, formed partly by experiences caused by political turmoil, partly by disorientation as a human being - and due to the intense personal take on the events it stays believable, especially as Satrapi mainly shows aspects in her life to which Westerners can relate. "Persepolis" oscillates between a young kid's floating on clouds in admiration for idols like Bruce Lee and Michael Jackson, the harsh socio-political reality on the ground and the consequential estrangement from life, the universe and everything. And still, remarkably, this girl made her way.Satrapi would follow up her adventure into the movie world with "Chicken with Plums", this time using real actors and focusing on a side of Satrapi that "Persepolis" neglected: the artist. While that story stands on its own, the disenchantment of the protagonist nevertheless connects thematically strongly with "Persepolis". To those interested this very quirky romantic picture is warmly recommended as well. It looks stupendously French, but is all about that beautiful girl of back then, the one who bears the name Irâne.