MovieTime

Review

by Julie Rigg

Marjane Satrapi's autobiography Persepolis was a bestselling graphic novel in France. Growing up under the Shah, then the religious police after the revolution; shadowed by the long war beteen her country and Iraq, Satrapi was a rebellious teenager. Her parents, fearing she would land in trouble after the revolution, sent her to Vienna to complete her schooling, where she found first love, freedom and the pain of exile.

The film version is co-directed by Vincent Paronnaud. Satrapi's black and white animations somehow sharpen and purify her insights: whether it's the horror of the long war or the pain of realising you can no longer breathe in your own country. Chiara Mastroianni and Catherine Deneuve voice Satrapi and her mother. Outstanding.

Director: Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi
Cast: (Voices) Chiara Mastroianni, Catherine Deneuve, Danielle Darrieux, Simon Abkarian, Gabrielle Lopes Benites, Gabrielle Lopes, François Jerosme
Producer: Xavier Rigault, Marc-Antoine Robert
Script: Vincent Paronnaud (novel by Marjane Satrapi)
Editor: Stéphane Roche
Music: Olivier Bernet
Running time: 92
Australian distributor: Roadshow
Language: French
Classification: M