Persepolis
For anyone who missed it Persepolis was a graphic novel (by Marjane Satrapi) that came out a few years ago and showed the life of a girl growing up in the shadow of the Iranian revolution of 1979. Well it looks like Persepolis is now headed for the big screen, it will be nice to see an animated film that will make people think:
“Any stragglers still unconvinced that animation can be an exciting medium for both adults and kids will run out of arguments in the face of “Persepolis.” Like the four-volume series of graphic novels on which it’s based, this autobiographical tour de force is completely accessible and art of a very high order. First-person tale of congenitally rebellious Marjane Satrapi, who was 8 years old when the Islamic Revolution transformed her native Teheran, boasts a bold lyricism spanning great joy and immense sorrow. In both concept and execution, hand-drawn toon is a winner. Sony Classics will release an English-dubbed version Stateside.
France-based Satrapi, who co-directed with fellow illustrator Vincent Paronnaud, is a sterling example of what good advice “Write (and draw) what you know” can be in gifted hands. Pic’s specificity is what renders it universal.From Baltimore to Beijing, anybody who ever had a family, a government and/or aspirations for personal happiness should be able to relate.
Narrative, which starts in 1978 and continues into the 1990s, could have been just another coming-of-age tale, but Satrapi and Paronnaud navigate their sharp melding of form and content with assurance. Result zips along with considerable humor, much of it self-deprecating, interspersed with darker material. Animation perfectly translates Satrapi’s deceptively simple black and white drawings. Much like Art Spiegelman’s anthropomorphic cats and mice vis-a-vis the history of the Shoah in “Maus,” Satrapi’s expressive, pleasingly pared down style lends itself to the pleasures of everyday life as well as the horrors of war and state repression. Original books used only stark black and white; shades of gray and evocative backgrounds are added for the screen, along with subtle patches of color in select settings.
Made entirely in France, three-year project required the skills of Gaul’s last working animation tracers (armed with felt-tip pens) and looks terrific on a budget of $8.1 million.”
…by the way check out the official website here.