Review of Persepolis (Morasa S.)

It is often difficult to capture the same level of emotion a novel provides to a reader through a film version of the novel. The film version of Marjane Satrapi’s, Persepolis surprisingly captures the same heart-felt emotions by her audience by being consistent with the book. The use of the comic-strip style cartoons in the movie stayed true to the originality of Marjane Satrapi’s overwhelming and raw memoir that is presented in the form of a graphic novel. The comic childlike drawings are simplistic but simplicity is far from accurate in regards to the answers for the reader and the characters. The novel has vignette-like sections, which help show that each mini story is used to present a larger tale.  The story is of Marjane growing up in the 1980s during the revolutionary war in Iran and her struggles as a rebel and standing up for her beliefs without hesitation, even when knowing the consequences of her actions.

The animated film lacks humorous monsters or talking animals, which take away from the typical comedy most animated films, have. Instead, Persepolis uses simple cartoon figures and applies genuine human emotion to them. The use of black and white in the film also heightened the intent of the film by giving it an edgier feel. Some of the more serious and graphic scenes allowed the audience to not be distracted by a cast of human characters or bold colors, which would add a sense of innocence to the film.            

The film successfully used human element with an important backdrop of history and universal social commentary, which was carried out in animation. It demonstrated Satrapi’s struggle with those around her through several techniques. One of the techniques that made the movie appealing in respects to the novel was the pacing of the scenes. During scenes that were relevant to Satrapi’s life were paced slowly with the characters moving in slow motion. To positively contrast with the speed of the scenes, differing shades of black and white highlighted Satrapi’s emotions when dialogue was not present. These techniques amplify a disillusioned and spirited woman who becomes content after becoming true to herself.

Although the film was put together with all of the elements connecting, it was upsetting to see an important scene from the novel not present in the film. The part in the novel that I felt was important that was not in the film was "The Letter." In this part of the novel, the reader is shown that the Satrapi household's maid, Mehri, was not allowed to sit with the family during dinner. Satrapi's father also cut off a love affair Mehri had with the neighbor next door by telling him that she was not a part of the family and she was just a maid. This shows how social class was an important matter in the Satrapi household. I felt that this was an important matter in the novel by showing the type of living environment Satrapi grew up around and I was surprised that it was not included in the film.