"Persepolis"
Susan was busy, Angie's blowing me off, and Jessica is elusive, so I went to go see "Persepolis" by myself last night at the Bijou. Much to my surprise, though the principle characters are Iranian, the movie was in French rather than Farsi. I guess that makes me a pretentious snob who takes himself too seriously, because this is another French film that I like.
It follows the story of a young girl as she grows up during the decade of domestic and cross-border warfare encompassing the overthrow of the Shah and Iran's subsiquent war with Iraq. Marjane is filled with all sorts of ideas of how the world should be, having grown up in a family that was very political and hoped for a (I furrowed my very American brow at this) revolution that would rival Lenin's overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II. I let the pro-Commie comments slide, and was very much able to enjoy the dystpoic feel of the largely black-and-white film. When they do get their revolution, their hopes and dreams of a free, democratic republic shatter under the amplified repression of the Ayatollah.
Marji's parents sent her to Vienna, where she struggled to fit in and came of age. After returning home, she finds Iran a very different and less inviting place, and outside of her home she realizes that she does not fit in there, either. She tries, though, and is miserable for it, and finally decides that she will leave forever. As she departs for Paris, her family bids her goodbye, and her mother, for the sake of Marjane's happiness, forbids her ever to return to that place.
On the soundtrack:
Iron Maiden (purchased on the black market)
Survivor (during a "training montage" - Bahbp, bahbp, bahbp!)
One mystery solved: What, exactly, is Persepolis? Turns out, it's an ancient city that was a ceremonial capital of Persia. Persia, of course, is modern-day Iran. Interestingly, around the time of the Islamic Revolution, UNESCO declared the ruins of this city World Heritage Site #114.
Other World Heritage Sites include:
Chichen Itza (#483)
The Great Wall of China (#438)
The Pyramids of Giza (#86)
The Acropolis (#404)
But, I digress...
In summation: It's good animation. It's as dystopian as Orwell. It's got lots of comedy and lots of tragedy, and just makes you feel. I say its Oscar nomination was well-deserved.
I like it.