The other day I got a chance to view this wonderful French animated film called Persepolis. I had seen the previews for it at an independent film theatre while watching Juno, and it really piqued my interest. So much so that it made my radar — my AJ-dar. The movie is about a young Iranian girl named Marjane and her experiences growing up under the Shah’s dictatorship and later her experiences under the Islamic Revolution. It’s quite an interesting film to put in an animated black and white setting. Suffice to say this ain’t the Lion King and unless you want your kids exposed to adult themes like war, death, hardship, oppression and the big taboo word that kids aren’t suppose to know about S.E.X. then I wouldn’t recommend bringing your kids.
I really enjoyed watching the majority of the film, though the movie kinda lost me towards the end. In the beginning the movie was told in the perspective of a young girl Marjane; That was the part of the movie I enjoyed the most. As a young girl the movie had this sort of innocence and naive charm to it because it deals with Marjane just trying to be a little girl in a very adult world. Later as she matured and grew up the movie became another story of self pity. Don’t get me wrong it is still powerful storytelling from a point of view that many of us can’t relate with which, if anything, this movie serves as a great educational experience that teaches cultural differences and a bit of history.
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