Persepolis
It is the story of a girl, the only child of her parents. Her name is Marjane and she has been brought up in a leftist-liberal tradition. She is a rebel with all kinds of causes, and full of questions, ever ready to experiment with new ideas and an ideal consumer of lifestyle products. She develops her own sense of good and bad as she grows up, which comes into conflict with the worldview of others in her tradition bound society. She questions authority, and defies it in her own way and often lands in trouble.
She has a family that stands by her through thick and thin. Her major source of inspiration and consolation is her grandma who, in spite of being a grandma, is tolerant and liberated. Grandma has two interesting fetishes. She makes fun of men with small peckers and likes her breasts smelling of jasmine. She puts fresh jasmine flowers in her blouse to achieve that end. Why Jasmine flowers? She could have applied jasmine oil or the essence of the flower on her breasts. Is there a ban on these in Iran?
The story is told from Marjane’s perspective through an animation film with simple comic book graphics in black and white. It is set in an Iranian city, that is why the name Persepolis (an ancient Persian city). It covers a period starting from the rule of Shah Reza Pehalavi and spanning the Iranian revolution led by the Shiite clergy to the present day. It is a humorous tale.
Is it a politically significant film? Yes, in a ‘malice towards none’ sort of way which is a strong point of the film. It depicts the perilous existence of a liberal woman in an Iranian society. It pokes and pinches but does not bite too strongly, i.e., avoids blatant political activism. However, it has all the familiar and obvious traces of feminism in its characterizations, dialogues, and typical feminist humor that can be an anathema to hard-core Islamists. Surprisingly, I did not hear words like Ayatollah anywhere in the film.
The use of simple black and white animation adds a unique cinematic value to the film. It compliments its narrative style and the subject matter. However, it is a kind of a personal film, based on an autobiographical comic book graphic novel of the writer/filmmaker Marjane Satrapi. Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud directed the film jointly and it is a confident and competent work of art. The film follows the graphic style of the book.
It was originally made in French, but its English version is being released in India by NDTV Lumiere and PVR cinemas on 20th June, 2008. The film cannot be shown in Iran. The Iranian government castigated the French authorities in the following words for its inclusion in the 2007 programme of Cannes – “This year the Cannes Film Festival, in an unconventional and unsuitable act, has chosen a movie about Iran that has presented an unrealistic face of the achievements and results of the glorious Islamic Revolution in some of its parts.”
The film was nominated for all major film awards of the world in 2007, won a few, and has received laudatory reviews from the community of film critics. Some say it was one of the top ten films of 2007.
It is a typical art house film and a must watch for the burgeoning breed of animator-filmmakers in India. They may have watched it already on DVD. It may inspire them to tell stories of their own without having to mortgage their all, body and soul, by using simple animation techniques that may not call for investments in millions of dollars. And if they succeed in saying something significant that impresses the world, their genius will be recognized and they will be taken a little more seriously by the industry. Or else, they can continue to work as donkeys, doing trite stuff for others.
Those who plan to watch the movie must confirm with PVR cinemas beforehand. The scheduled and advertised shows may be cancelled by the cinema chain at the last moment for various reasons, technical or otherwise.
RKS
