Perceiving Persepolis

An-EMT has been, more or less, a success. Last Tuesday was the third week running. And what An-EMT it was.

We went with animation. Not specifically because it was animated, but because it was a highly-acclaimed film (95% on Rotten Tomatoes), and it was very different from the film we'd watched the week before (The Fall).

Persepolis is an uncompromisingly great animated film, meaning it was strong both as a film and as cutting edge, high-minded animation. The film is based on an autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, and it is French, even though Sister Satrapi is Iranian.

The story is a powerful mix of Iranian history and rich character development, and it's hard to gauge which of the two is more compelling. The historical aspect is so personal that it altogether avoids coming off as didactic. And the character development reaches far beyond the main character and lifts up every significant face in the film. Satrapi revealed each of them with utmost sincerity and affection, and, to no lesser an effect, with incredible skill.

This animated adaptation of what I'm sure must have been a superb graphic novel also does what you always hope an animated film will do: it uses the medium. No transition was wasted; no possibility for visual illustration of theme, idea, attitude or emotion was left unused. The film was able to wander all over the artistic world it built for itself without ever sacrificing efficiency of storytelling or losing the audience.

I could barely contain myself after this film. Because though I can't define this masterpiece as a "feel good" film, it made me laugh, made me sad, made me hope, and made me love. And at the end, I felt very, very good--because I felt like it had just given me something valuable and rare: a uniquely artistic insight into a profound life's experience.