By Sara Pintilie/entertainment editor
Persepolis (4.5 stars)
The gorgeous and powerful adaptation of Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis is simply unforgettable and should win this year’s Oscar for animated feature film.
The autobiographical tale retraces Satrapi’s childhood in Iran during the Islamic revolution.
Satrapi is smart, sassy and incredibly aware, even before she hits double digits.
Everything is fine in her country until the Shah is taken down and the Islamic revolution rages through the streets.
She watches as the women, herself included, have to cover up and wear veils but keeps her spunky charisma and her love for Iron Maiden.
But after her uncle is imprisoned and killed, her family sends her to Austria to keep her safe and give her an education.
Satrapi feels stuck between her two worlds as she grows up in Vienna. She doesn’t fit in at her present location, and she misses her family though she tries to hide her Iranian heritage.
Satrapi slides through her teenage years, trying to figure out who she really is.
A rather formulaic plot arc—but the brute honesty and the touching personality of this young girl make this film absolutely enthralling.
She dabbles in drugs, boys and partying, but she keeps her witty demeanor about her and the audience falls more in love with her as the movie progresses.
Persepolis is a colorful and poignant coming of age film-—in complete black and white.
The animation isn’t glitzy; the movie looks like panels straight out of her graphic novels, but the story is cinematically poetic.
The film is in French, but the language shouldn’t stop moviegoers from seeing this flick.
The elegance of Persepolis shows what an animation movie can truly be—adult entertainment, not just a medium for the kiddie fair.
