Persepolis

PERSEPOLIS
Director: Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
Country: Iran/France
Film website: http://www.sonyclassics.com/persepolis/
Summary: Persepolis is based on Marjane Satrapi’s memoirs of her first-hand experiences of living in Iran under the Shah and the Fundamentalists, from the 1970’s until 1994. She recounts her teenage years as a student in Vienna, Austria; her return back to a theocratic Iran, and her need again to leave the country, this time permanently.

The film is part an Iranian history lesson and part memoir, showing the viewer a family’s experiences and life-style under drastic political changes. It is also the story of a rebellious, precocious child who grows up in a repressive society. It is the story of how an artist finds pleasure and meaning even when a fanatical government fights to prevent her from doing so. The books and film, “Persepolis” is proof that despite all the struggle and opposition, the human spirit is indomitable and can turn around difficult experiences to bring forth “art.”