Persepolis
Studio: Sony/Columbia Year: 2007 Rated: PG-13 Program Length: 95 minutes Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 1080p Languages: English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
The Program
It is likely that most Americans do not realize that in 1978 Iran was considered to be one of the most modern countries of the Middle East. The Shah of Iran was a brutal dictator, particularly during the last years of his reign, but he also extended suffrage to women and instituted land reform policies. Western influences, from Coca-Cola to Nike shoes, were welcome and omnipresent. However, the Shah’s policies infuriated Muslim clerics, and as opposition to his rule grew he became increasingly autocratic. In 1975 the Shah banned all opposition political parties and by 1978 Amnesty International estimated that Iran had more than 2,000 political prisoners in custody. Then came the revolution, followed by a long and ruinous war with Iraq.
This is the historical background against which Persepolis opens. Nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, it is a coming of age story based upon the graphic novels of Marjane Satrapi. The story is a somewhat fictionalized version of Satrapi’s life.
The film opens at Orly Airport in Paris, where the adult Marjane longs to return to her native Iran but she has no ticket and no passport. She then lights up a cigarette and reflects on her life. We then see Marjane as an eight-year-old growing up in Tehran. Up to this point she has had a happy and relatively carefree childhood, unaware of the fact that her uncle has been imprisoned for several years because of his political views. As the Shah’s control of Iran becomes increasingly more tenuous, Marjane’s parents are optimistic that their country is about to embark upon a new era of freedom. Alas, their optimism is short-lived. The fundamentalist rule of the Ayatollah Khomeini proves to be even worse than that of the Shah. In a great irony similar to those which often accompany revolutions, Marjane’s uncle is released from the Shah’s prison only to find himself arrested again by the revolutionary government.
The young Marjane chafes against the new restrictions placed upon her. The government forbids her to wear western clothing, use makeup or listen to western music. When her schoolteacher tells her class that there are no longer any political prisoners in Iran, Marjane protests that her own uncle is a political prisoner. Marjane’s parents fear that the authorities will crack down on her, so they send her to school in Vienna. While in Austria she blossoms into a young woman, a transformation which is depicted in a brilliant and hilarious animated sequence. She falls in love and experiences betrayal and heartbreak. Overall life is better in Austria, but as an Iranian Marjane feels out of place and longs to go home. Following a life-threatening illness she finally returns to Tehran, only to discover that conditions there have actually deteriorated.
What sets Persepolis apart from the usual coming of age film is the fact that there is nothing contrived about the obstacles which Marjane faces. The animation, while in some respects very spare, is ultimately quite striking. Most of the film is in black and white, with a few scenes in color. The Blu-ray disc includes the original French soundtrack with voices by Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve and other French-speaking actors, but there is also an English soundtrack featuring dialogue by Sean Penn, Iggy Pop and Gena Rowlands (Mastroianni and Deneuve do both the French and English versions). American viewers will likely find the English version to be more accessible. Because this is an animated film, the dubbing does not seem like dubbing. The optional English subtitles are white and are superimposed over the bottom of the frame.
While Persepolis is not overtly political, it does provide some valuable insight into the nature of the Iranian people. A friend told me that it should be seen by anyone who believes that it would be a good idea for the United States to attack Iran. Watch it and judge for yourself.
Persepolis, incidentally, derives its name from the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire.
The Video
The 1080p Blu-ray widescreen transfer is wonderful. The animation is clean and sharp, and the mostly black and white image displays deep, solid blacks and excellent contrast. Digital artifacts are non-existent. Even though the animation is by design flat and two-dimensional, it really comes to life in some scenes. The few color scenes are quite striking, and some of the darker scenes have a distinctly noirish look. The film also includes a very funny scene involving a certain Japanese movie monster. This is a very good-looking Blu-ray transfer.
The Audio
Both the English and French Dolby Digital TrueHD 5.1 audio soundtracks are extremely well-done. There is a surprising amount of punch in the war scenes, as bombs from Iraq rain down upon Tehran. The music soundtrack also has a considerable amount of dimensionality. The English dialogue is always clear and intelligible. I am not sufficiently fluent in French to comment on that soundtrack, but I assume that it is at least as clear as the English soundtrack.
The Supplements
The Blu-ray disc of Persepolis includes two “making of” featurettes. “The Hidden Side of Persepolis” focuses on the French version of the film and goes into some detail about the changes which had to be made to successfully transform graphic novels into a feature film. “Behind the Scenes of Persepolis” takes a look at the recording of the English version of the film.
Another extra examines the animation process, with commentary by Marjane Satrapi. The animation of this film was done the old-fashioned way, with painstaking, hand-drawn work by the animators.
Also included is the film’s press conference at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. The Americans participating in the press conference are Gena Rowlands and executive producer Kathleen Kennedy. Several of the questions refer to the condemnation of the film by the Iranian government.
There is no full-length commentary, but there are commentaries of select scenes.
The Packaging
The single disc comes in a standard Blu-ray keepcase.
The Final Analysis
Persepolis is serious animated film which has garnered a great deal of praise around the world. In addition to its Academy Award nomination, it won the Jury Prize at Cannes, was named Best Animated Feature by the New York Film Critics Circle, and received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Film. I found it to be very involving and eye-opening, and Marjane is a feisty, sassy protagonist who is as endearing as Juno.
Equipment used for this review:
Panasonic DMP-BD10A DVD Player
Sharp LC-42D62U LCD display
Yamaha HTR-5890 THX Surround Receiver
BIC Acoustech speakers
Interconnects: Monster Cable
Release Date: June 24, 2008
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