Persepolis

Persepolis is recommended by the LA Times critic Carina Chocano who writes:

A familiar story set in an unfamiliar context, it's a paean to the universality of human experience, a testament to the endurance of individuality during great political and fanatical upheaval, and a reminder that even the most complex situations, identities and stories are heartbreakingly simple. (Read Chocano's full review of Persepolis at the LA Times)

Synopsis for "Persepolis"

We meet 9-year-old Marjane when the fundamentalists first take power; she cleverly outsmarts the “social guardians” and discovers punk, ABBA and Iron Maiden, while living with the terror of government persecution and the Iran/Iraq war; as a teenager, her parents send her to school in Austria in fear for her safety and she has to combat being equated with the religious fundamentalism and extremism she fled her country to escape. Marjane gains acceptance in Europe but finds herself homesick, and returns to Iran to be with her family, though it means putting on the veil and living in a tyrannical society. She enters art school and marries, continuing to speak out against the hypocrisy she witnesses. At age 24, she realizes that while she is deeply Iranian, she cannot live in Iran. She then makes the decision to leave for France, optimistic about her future, shaped indelibly by her past.

Opened December 25, 2007 Runtime: 1 hr. 35 min.
PG-13 mature thematic material including violent images, sexual references, language and brief drug content

Cast: Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Gena Rowlands, Sean Penn, Iggy Pop
Director: Marjane Satrapi
Genres: Drama, Coming-of-Age
In French with English subtitles.

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