It’s early yet, but the current critical unanimity over at Rotten Tomatoes suggests that Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis has a legitimate shot at being one of this year’s best reviewed films. Based on Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novels, Persepolis is the animated, black-and-white account of a young Iranian girl growing up amid the turmoil of the Islamic Revolution. From the toppling of the Shah to the immediate installation of the Ayatollah Khomeini and onward to all the inspired wackiness that ensued, Persepolis is supposed to be an alternately despairing and uplifting coming of age tale; and while the animation is somewhat minimalist compared to, say, Ratatouille, the austere design appears to perfectly complement the cold ideological rigidity faced by Satrapi throughout her youth.
I’ve missed a few opportunities to see the movie (the subject matter kept getting in the way), and this just-released theatrical trailer makes me regret my reticence. Persepolis looks far livelier than I figured it’d be. Why don’t you take a break from watching The Boy Who Could Fly on YouTube and check it out for yourself?
Sony Classics will give Persepolis a limited U.S. release beginning December 25, 2007.