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| PERSEPOLIS |
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Rating |
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M |
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| Time |
92 minutes |
| Country |
France/USA |
| Director |
Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud |
| Cast |
Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve (voices) |
| Distributor |
Roadshow |
| Worth |
$14.50 |
| Released |
August 21 |
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“…astonishingly good…”
As political warriors line up to demonise Iran, the world view of its citizens is once more rendered black and white. It is therefore appropriate that Marjane Satrapi’s feature animation adapted from her graphic novel should be largely made up of bold, blocky, black-and-white drawings. With her co-writer/co-director Vincent Paronnaud, Satrapi has created one of the most poignant and affecting animated features in years.
Persepolis tells the story of a young girl growing up during the Islamic Revolution – a time when fundamentalist “social guardians” took control and imposed a new civil order. Nine-year-old Marjane is a precocious youngster who manages to outwit law enforcers and express her liberal values (including a fondness for ABBA and Iron Maiden) until her uncle is senselessly murdered by the new regime. When Iraqi bombs begin to fall, she is sent to Austria for a safe education. While adolescence makes wary inroads, Marjane’s heart remains with her family in Iran.
Flanked by France’s favourite daughter, Satrapi earned a long and tearful standing ovation when Persepolis screened at Cannes last year. A stroke of casting genius, Catherine Deneuve stars opposite her own daughter, Chiara Mastroianni, as Marjane’s mother in a role that defines the film. For if it is about anything, Persepolis is about the universal desire for compassion and communication. Yet it is also smart enough to avoid tumbling into the gaping holes that open up around such potential clichés. Coupled with resilient humour, this is a superior tale that speaks of the greater truths that bind us all. It does so with sparkling wit and daring imagination, and is a stunning odyssey through personality and politics that underlines our commonality. Deceptively simple, and astonishingly good, Persepolis is unlike anything you’ve seen before.
Colin Fraser
THE EDGE OF LOVE
TROPIC THUNDER
BABY MAMA
SON OF A LION
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS OSAMA BIN LADEN?
STAR WARS – THE CLONE WARS
TAKEN
THE STRANGERS
THE VISITOR
YOU, THE LIVING
ZOMBIE STRIPPERS
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS
FEMALE AGENTS
STOP-LOSS
THE SQUARE
WANTED
AND WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER?
THE X FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE
THE SAVAGES
THE BANK JOB
FORBIDDEN KINGDOM
HOW ABOUT YOU
SALUTE
THE DARK KNIGHT
THE BAND'S VISIT
HANCOCK
CHILDREN OF THE SILK ROAD
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
TEN EMPTY
MAMMA MIA!
MEET DAVE
THE LOVE GURU
UP THE YANGTZE
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A SCANNER DARKLY
The combination of director Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed And Confused) and writer Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Minority Report) would seem an odd one. And yet this unique and quirky film somehow works. The story (ostensibly about an undercover cop’s crisis of identity and consciousness) is a difficult one to describe. In a word, it’s about “drugs”. But calling this a “drug film” would be doing this layered and complex work a great disservice. This is about so much more. It’s a bizarre mystery, a thriller, a romance and a paranoid rumination on the effect of power and control on a dazed populace.
Questions of identity and complicity are raised, and stand out performances by Keanu Reeves (seriously!), Robert Downey Jr. (who might know a thing or two about the subject matter) and Winona Ryder make this odd journey one well worth taking. A Scanner Darkly manages to remain compelling from go to whoa. This is partly due to the way it’s shot. Real life footage is, seemingly, “painted” so it looks animated, in much the same way that Linklater’s Waking Life was. This is no mere gimmick. It really makes the characters seem like they’re trying to find sense in their imprisoning chemical haze.
All up, the film is a bit of a naval gazer, but if you’re up for something with a little more meat on its bones than Trainspotting (which was a fine film, but intellectually a little light by comparison), A Scanner Darkly represents a fascinating look into a world most of us would probably do best to avoid. Utterly original and possibly the most faithful adaptation of Dick’s work to date.
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