A Cartoon of the Iranian Revolution?

Persepolis

Cine Yelmo Ideal
Calle Dr. Cortezo, 6
Metro Sol/Tirso de Molina
schedule
French with Spanish subtitles
English-subtitled
trailer

Marjane
Satrapi is a young girl with modest desires: one day she dreams of being able
to wax her legs and… being a prophet. During
early childhood, the Shah still rules her home country, Iran. When he finally
resigns after mass demonstrations and an Islamic revolution, Marjane’s world is
transformed radically. Resisting these reforms, her rebellious attitude on the
street and in school forces her parents to send her to Europe.
Thus, at the fragile age of 14 she is about to spend some very lonely years far
from her beloved Iran.

Flash
forward. In 2000, Marjane – 31 years old
and living in France
- publishes the first of a series of 4 graphic novels depicting her life. The books, praised for their humour and quality
drawings, tell the story of Iran,
Islam, growing up, and life in general.

Satrapi is determined to show that Iran is not exclusively
inhabited by long-bearded men forbidding others from listen to ABBA. The black
and white drawings are an homage to her country, her progressive family, and freedom
in every sense. Luckily for us, these
beautiful books are now brought to life in a film.

The
film, Persépolis (the name of an ancient capital of Persia
- now Iran),
is not a conventional cartoon. It lacks colour and provides almost no
spectacular action, yet the narrative and the drawings cast a potent spell
that lingers for days. The story of Marjane is both funny and disturbing. She
hasn’t spared herself criticism showcasing all her youthful indiscretion. Her
family receives the same treatment and although it is crystal clear that
Satrapi loves them very much, the story never lapses into propaganda or sentimentality.

Marjane
goes to great lengths to show that most Iranians are not the dark-clothed
bogeymen that make headlines these days; rather, they want to listen to music and eat ice cream
like the rest of the world. She also
reminds us that until not so long ago the country was very different – you can’t
judge one of the oldest cultures in history by merely looking at the last 30
years. The drawings – the same ones as used
in the novels – are simple but very effective making Persépolis alluring from
an artistic perspective as well.

The fact that the Iranian
government allegedly protested the film’s presence at The Cannes Film Festival
because “It gives an unrealistic image of the accomplishments of the glorious
Islamic Revolution” in addition to the fact that Persépolis is the French
contribution for the next Academy Awards hopefully creates room for a wider
discussion on what Iran and Iranians really are.

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