Editor Reviews:

Product Description:
Persepolis is the poignant story of a young girl coming-of-age 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.System Requirements:Running Time: 95 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ANIMATION/ANIME Rating: PG-13 UPC: 043396225251 Manufacturer No: 22525

Amazon.com:
A fascinating and wholly unexpected take on Iran’s Islamic revolution beginning in the 1970s, Persepolis is an enthralling, animated feature about a spirited young woman who spends her life trying to deal with the consequences of her nation’s history. Based on an autobiographical comic book by Marjane Satrapi, the story concerns Marji (voiced as a teenager and woman by Chiara Mastroianni), whose natural fire and precociousness are slowly dampened by the rise of religious extremists. Marji grieves over the imprisonment and execution of a beloved uncle, then begrudgingly adapts to ever-tightening rules about dress, social mores, education for women, and expectations about marriage and divorce. Along the way, her grandmother (Danielle Darrieux) and mother (Catherine Deneuve) help keep Marji grounded during her rebellious teens and encourage her to find life beyond Iran’s borders, a decision that proves both a blessing and curse. An unique window onto a crucial chapter of 20th century history, Persepolis is graphically engaging with its black-and-white, bold lines and feeling of repressed energy, fit to burst. The emotional content is so strong that after awhile, one almost forgets the film is a cartoon. Satrapi co-wrote the screenplay and co-directed the film along with animator Vincent Paronnaud. --Tom Keogh

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Rating : - Animating the battlefield against evil
Iran is still to these days in the focus of world wide attention. After Mahmoud Ahmadinejad appearance in Clumbia University last year, it seems that nothing has been changed since the Islamic revolution that took place in 1978. Iran is a fundamentalist country oppressing freedom of speech not to mention the thousands who were brutally emprisoned and executed since the fled of the Shah. Persepolis - the name of the ancient capital of Persia during the Achaemenid Empire in 550-330 BC.
Alluding to ancient Persia is of no coincidence; it meant to bring to the open the tragedy of the people of Iran whose freedom is constantly denied by treaturous leaders. The comic book, or to be exact - the graphic novel written by Marjane Satrapi focuses on her expirience as a child grown up in between two eras - the Shah and Komeini, and the means the new regime took to indoctrinate its fundemental islamic ideology. The film is based on Satrapi's book, carefully adheres to its style by using straightforward simple images mostly in black and white telling the story of Satrapi's life in Iran as a child and in Vienna after she fled from her country. Being an animated film, it is not an entertaining film suitable for children. It is a poignant film which takes us through the harsh times Satrapi and her family went through the dark days of 1978 telling the story of the Iranian nation at large.

Ben Baruch Blich, ph.d.
History and Theory dept.
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design
Jerusalem