Persepolis
– Marjane Satrapi adapts her graphic novel for the big screen
By Caroline Planque
Posted
January 25,
2008
Think animation movies are
only for kids? Marjane Satrapi’s elegant and pure pen strokes
narrate the story of her youth, of a young Iranian girl whose
family, torn by the Islamic revolution and concerned for her
security, sends her away to
Austria
in order to protect her. Her coming of age in this foreign land
coincides with a search for identity and values, a clash of
culture that makes her yearn for her homeland but then, upon
returning, also makes her realize that she, herself, has changed
too much to be able to accept the fundamentalist law now
governing her country.
Satrapi defines herself
rightly as an artist, a talented one at that, and not a
sociologist, historian or politician. She is not trying to
convey another image of her homeland, or take a political
stance, but rather to encourage more consideration of all human
beings. The tragic events that shattered
Iran
are shown in their complexity and horror through the eyes of a
child and then a young adult. Satrapi certainly isn’t hoping to
gain sympathy for herself or her situation; she doesn’t feel
sorry for herself. “To think that one has the monopole of
suffering is really boring, and extremely unconscious. It’s
certainly not because someone cut your finger while they cut my
arm that I am suffering more than you do. It is the same
suffering. There is no scale in it. For me, courage is the
courage of everyday life and important choices are choices of
everyday life.”
Esthetically, the movie’s
sobriety in black and white reinforces the impact of the story
being told. “I come from independent graphic novels, says
Satrapi, where from the start, one publishes in black and white
for economical reasons because it is cheaper. But even if I
could publish in color, I would not do it… I find that black and
white functions better to narrate a story.”
Add to it the wonderful voices of real-life mother and daughter Catherine
Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni, and Danielle Darrieux, and
you’ll find yourself drawn to the characters in a way that would
have been impossible in a feature film.
Persepolis
has been nominated for best animated feature at the 2008 Academy
Awards. Results on February 24.
Also read an interview of Marjane Satrapi in French.
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