Persepolis is the poignant story of a
young girl in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It is
through the eyes of precocious and outspoken nine year old
Marjane that we see a people's hopes dashed as
fundamentalists take power - forcing the veil on women and
imprisoning thousands. Clever and fearless, she
outsmarts the “social guardians” and discovers punk, ABBA
and Iron Maiden. Yet when her uncle is senselessly executed
and as bombs fall around Tehran in the Iran/Iraq war, the
daily fear that permeates life in Iran is palpable
As she gets older, Marjane's boldness causes her parents to
worry over her
continued safety. And so, at age fourteen, they make the
difficult decision to send
her to school in Austria. Vulnerable and alone in a strange
land, she endures the
typical ordeals of a teenager. In addition, Marjane has to
combat being equated
with the religious fundamentalism and extremism she fled her
country to escape.
Over time, she gains acceptance, and even experiences love,
but after high
school she finds herself alone and horribly homesick.
Though it means putting on the veil and living in a
tyrannical society, Marjane
decides to return to Iran to be close to her family. After a
difficult period of
adjustment, she enters art school and marries, all the while
continuing to speak
out against the hypocrisy she witnesses. At age 24, she
realizes that while she is
deeply Iranian, she cannot live in Iran. She then makes the
heartbreaking
decision to leave her homeland for France, optimistic about
her future, shaped
indelibly by her past.
© Sony Pictures Classics. All
rights reserved
MORE MOVIE REVIEWS
>>>
Submit Your Movie Review
